Kyou Kara Maou REWRITE!
by Could be more Original
Summary: This is a Kyou Kara Maou Rewrite, and when i say rewrite, i mean from the VERY begining Okay, maybe not as far back as Shinou's childhood, but you get the point. Chapter 17: Aftermath... is up. T for Safety. DISCONTINUED
1. Dreams part 1

**Author's note**: This was previously the story 'Surviving Till Shin Makoku' but I couldn't sleep so I spent 12am to 3am brainstorming. And I've decided to turn this into a trilogy. Due the fact that chapter one is so long, I decided to separate it into 2 or maybe 3 (yes it's that long) diff uploads. The bottom a/n will appear after the chapter is finish (as it should be).

**Disclaimer: **Sadly, I don't own Kyou Kara Maou or its characters. But the OC and Plot are mine… xD _sliver lining…_

**Chapter 1**

_A dainty little girl, looking no more than six years old, stood alone in a beautiful garden where flowers of every color you could imagine could be seen. Butterflies danced from flower to flower as bees sang. Morning dew clung to the petals of the flowers._

_Her frilly violet dress swayed lightly in the warm morning breeze as she strolled through the __efflorescing__ blossoms. As a particularly strong breeze blew, she reached up to try to hold her shoulder length hair in place._

"_Ysabel!"_

_The girl turned at the sound of her name. Immediately, her face lit up and a warm smile spread across her bow-like lips._

"_Ysabel!" a little boy called out as he ran to where she stood. His age seemed to be akin with hers as well. His attire was brown, matching the color of his short hair. In his fist, he clutched a small pink box._

_The girl giggled, then raised her hand up and waved. "Conrad!"_

"_Surprise!" he said as he offered the pink box with out-stretched hands. "Happy 12th Birthday."_

_Black eyes regarded brown ones as Ysabel accepted the gift. She lifted the cap of the gift box and when she saw what resided within, she was on seventh heaven. She gasped and said, "Thank you, Conrad, it's so beautiful!"_

_Conrad plucked the pendant out of the box. Then, out of his pocket, he took out a length of black ribbon. After attaching the string to the pendant, he motioned for her to turn around. She did so and Conrad tied the necklace in place._

"_Now the ribbon matches your hair and eyes," he said with a certain amount of glee. Ysabel turned back to face his childhood friend. "Thank you," she said again as she fingered the pewter pendent._

_All of a sudden, her mood changed as she grabbed Conrad's wrist with her tiny hand and ran towards the castle. "Come on, let's go see Lord Weller and Her Majesty."_

_Conrad raised his eyebrow as he kept up with her no problem. Not looking back, she added, "Then we can show off my new necklace to everyone."_

_They both laughed openly, all the time under the watchful eyes of a grey haired youth._

* * *

_That night, the stars winked endlessly as a pair of children sat by a fountain. A brown stallion and a grey mare stood not five feet away._

_The moon cast a blanket of its silvery glow on those below. A girl and a boy sat closely together as they pointed at the night sky. Then, suddenly, a flash of white shot across the stars. The children gasped. "A shooting star!" Ysabel exclaimed. "Now, we get to make a promise that will last forever."_

_Conrad and Ysabel thought for awhile, Ysabel said, "I know." She hoped onto the feet and turned her gaze upwards once more. "Let's make a promise," she started. "That we'll always be inseparable best friends."_

_Conrad came to stand beside her. As he too looked up, he added, "forever. Promise?"_

_Ysabel gave an enthusiastic nod. "Promise," she agreed._

_After an hour or so, Conrad broke the silence. "We better get back," he said. "Our parents would get worried if we disappeared for too long a time."_

_Ysabel smiled. "You mean like your 12th birthday?" she mused innocently._

_Conrad face spilt into a grin. "That was two years ago."_

_Ysabel slid down from the fountain with Conrad's help. "Doesn't mean it didn't happen," she teased. "Anyway, I'm not afraid. If I'm in any trouble, my knight will come."_

_Conrad was mildly shocked from the last statement and when he found his voice again, he nodded and confirmed, "Yeah."_

_Then, as Ysabel was about to mount her mare, there was a rustle in the bushes. Six black-clad men stepped out into the open, swords in hand._

_Conrad drew his own sword and urged Ysabel behind him. "Ysabel, make a run for it." It wasn't Conrad who said that though. Both children turned to see a grey haired youth drawing out his sword beside them._

"_Gwendal," both children muttered._

"_Go!" Gwendal said as the six men advanced._

_Ysabel mounted her mare like a master and gave the reins a quick whip and with a neigh, her mare started off at a gallop._

"_You should run too," Gwendal said to younger brother as they both engaged the intruders._

_Before Conrad could reply, a scream diverted their attention. A seventh intruder landed right in front of the fleeing girl. Frightened, Ysabel's horse neighed and threw her off her saddle. The seventh intruder encircled his arms around Ysabel's waist and began to run out the main gates where seven black horses stood waiting._

"_Their after Ysabel!" Both lads cried._

"_You go, I'll hold these off," Gwendal said._

_Quick as a flash, Conrad mounted to pursuit the fleeing enemy. The gods smiled down upon them as Lord Weller and Lady von Spitzweg came out looking for their offsprings. As Conrad raced past them, he shouted, "Mother, Father, help!"_

_Conrad then returned his focus to chasing down the kidnapper. Behind him, he could hear his mother calling out to him and his father running to what he supposed was Ysabel's mare._

_Conrad slowly closed the gap between him and the kidnapper. At the end of the road, were a gorge and then a sharp turn. If they kept up at this speed, they wouldn't be able the make the turn in time, Conrad knew. He fervently hoped that the kidnapper knew that as well._

"_There it is," Conrad said under his breath as the gorge came into view. The enemy wasn't slowing and Conrad panicked. So, he unsheathed his sword and did the only thing he could think of: he pulled his sword passed his ear and threw it like a javelin._

_He knew his aim was true when it hit the ground in front of the escaping enemy. It spooked the horse enough, but to Conrad's horror, it threw its rider and captive off the side of the gorge._

_Then, Conrad seemed to fly right out of his saddle and seized Ysabel's wrist as they both fell towards the raging river below. Using his free right hand, he desperately tried to grab a hold of something solid. Finally, their descend stopped abruptly when Conrad took hold of a branch._

"_I've got you," he said to the fearful little girl he held._

_At that moment, the branch cracked and both children clung on for dear life. Conrad looked up at the side of the gorge, there was no way he could get both of them up. Their only hope was that someone would come and rescue them. He tried to put on a brave grin as he looked down at Ysabel but failed._

_There was another crack of the branch. Unable to hold it in, Ysabel cried out. "The branch won't hold both of us!"_

"_Yes, it will!" Conrad shouted down. His joints felt afire and it was as if they were being pulled from their sockets, but he wouldn't let go._

_Another crack answered Conrad. "We're going to fall!" Ysabel shouted._

"_Then we'll fall together, as inseparable friends—forever. Remember?" Conrad managed to say as he strained to keep hold of his grip. He felt tears threatening to fall but he knew it wasn't because of the pain._

_Ysabel shook her head. "Live…live for me." Conrad looked down at his childhood friend. His hair was now wet from perspiration._

"_And Conrad?"_

"_Yeah?"_

"_Thanks for coming to my rescue. You really are my knight." She smiled. Tears ran freely down both of their cheeks. Then, she released her grasp on Conrad's wrist._

_Perspiration made it difficult to keep hold and despite Conrad's best efforts, Ysabel's hand slipped out of his own._

"_No!"_

_He watched in horror as his close friend and companion fell to her death. He hung on… he hung on… for what seemed an eternity, he hung on._

_He didn't even feel his body being lifted up by his father's strong arms. Without a word, he buried himself into his mother's embrace and he continued to cry._

_Then, the sky cried, everyone mourned._

* * *

Her alarm sounded. She flipped open her phone which ceased the ringing.

Sarah sat up in her bed. She was drenched in perspiration again. Ever since entering the week before her twenty-first birthday, she started having strange dreams. The dreams were always different but they all included the little boy and girl. She had to admit, the girl did look like a miniature her but she was quite certain she had never seen the boy in her life.

_The pewter pendent… _Sarah looked down and on her neck, was the exact same oval necklace the little boy gave the girl. The design was of a phoenix that looked like it was rising out of flames except that the flames were absent and flowers overlapped each other to form a border.

Sarah got out of bed and went into the shower. Turning on the water, she thought about her first dream.

_Ysabel was sitting between two older people in a carriage._

"_Where are we going, father?"_

_A man with a gentle face turned over to her and said, "To the capital of Shin Makoku and then to Blood Pledge Castle to present ourselves to the Maou."_

"_Why?"_

_Ysabel's mother cut in and said, "Why? To show off our beautiful daughter, that's why." She nuzzled her daughter._

_Ysabel giggled._

_Her father looked at his daughter and smiled fondly. "My, how much you've grown since we last came to New Makoku."_

_Ysabel cocked her head and asked, "I've been there before?"_

"_Of course, six years ago, for the Newborn's Ceremony."_

"_Newborn's Ceremony? Is that why we're here this time too?"_

"_Actually, yes, as one of the ten Aristocrats, we have to. It was inconvenient to travel with a baby, so your mother and I requested that we stopped going until you were fit for travel."_

"_And now, everyone's anxious to see how much you've grown," her mother added._

"_Then, I'm excited to meet everyone too," Ysabel said happily. "How long before we get there?"_

_He motioned with his hand to the window. "Look out the window, we're here."_

* * *

_Ysabel's father stood to her left and her mother at her left. Hand in hand, they approached the throne room. The herald at the door announced their arrival and a pair of guards opened the large double doors to bid them entry._

_They walked in, proud as any noble. Inside, stood nine families, four to the right and an equal number to the left. In the middle, a woman dressed in black with blond curls sat on a throne. A man, in Ysabel's opinion, stood in an oversize cloak on her left. A teenager with grey hair, a little boy about Ysabel's age and a grown brown haired man stood to her right._

_Gasps could be heard from servants and nobles alike as well as excited chatter as Ysabel and her parents walked down the long red carpet. When they finally came to stand in front of Her Majesty Cecilie von Spitzweg, Ysabel's father gave a deep bow while she and her mother curtsied effortlessly._

"_It's been quite some time since you last visited, Lord Charles," Celi said formally. "We weren't even sure if you would come this year."_

"_My sincerest apologies, your majesty," Charles said with a grin. "May I have the pleasure introduce my lovely wife, Robyn and my daughter, Ysabel."_

"_It's good to finally see you again, Robby," Celi said, all form of formality gone._

_Ysabel's sweatdrop. Lady Robyn laughed and said, "And for a second there, I thought your brother had finally taught you to at least be formal in court."_

_Stoffel shook his head dramatically, "Afraid not, Lady."_

"_You have blessed us all," Dan Hiri cut in. "It's also been awhile since a double black walked among our number." At this, everyone smile._

……

_Later that day, Ysabel found herself in the garden again. As she absently walked through the flora, she bumped into someone and with a tiny 'oof', she landed on her backside._

_Then, she saw a hand offering to help her up, her gaze followed until she saw his face. It was the young boy who stood beside the maou earlier that day._

"_I'm sorry," he started. "Didn't see you there. You're Ysabel, aren't you?"_

_She nodded. "I'm Conrad," the boy continued as Ysabel took his hand. He heaved her to her feet. "Thank you," Ysabel smiled. After a pause, she fondly added, "Conrad."_

* * *

Stepping out of the shower, Sarah wrapped herself in a towel. Opening her wardrobe, she thought of the second dream she had.

_A year later, Ysabel gathered up the seem of her dress as ran down the corridors of her home and then down several flights of stairs._

_Near the main doors, she saw her parents going out the main doors of the castle. Lord Charles held the door open for her and motioned for her to hurry. She was immediately off at a sprint._

_Her parents walked calmly across the courtyard to their carriage to where a page waited patiently for his masters to board, but everything was just too painfully slow for Ysabel's taste. She practically pushed her parents into the carriage and jumped in after._

"_Whoa there, my dear, aren't you full of energy today?" Lord Charles asked but the only reply he received was a mysterious smile from his daughter._

* * *

"_Are we there yet?" Ysabel asked as she stuck her head out the window._

_Lord Charles flashed a pleading look in his wife's direction. She merely smiled and said, "For the eleventh time in the last hour, no, dear."_

_Five minutes later, Ysabel tugged on her father's sleeve. "Are you sure we're not there yet?"_

_Charles smiled at his daughter. "Yes, dear, because we're here. And we can't be here and there at the same time now can we?"_

_Ysabel blinked. Robyn blinked. And for the first time in three hours, silence and tranquility graced the carriage. Charles let out a long sigh of relief as he sank further down into his seat._

_The carriage screeched to a halt. Dust cloud flew as the driver pulled the reins of the horses, causing them to neigh. Lord Charles' face lit up as he announced, "We're here."_

_Ysabel immediately broke out of her trance and squealed in delight. The driver barely got clear of the door in time when Ysabel burst out of the carriage and rushed off and rounded the corner of the castle._

_Robyn pulled he husband off to one side. Hands on her hips, she said, "That's wasn't very nice."_

* * *

_Ysabel stood on her tipped toes and used the hedge as support. She searched high and low the garden, but she couldn't find him._

_Finally, she fell back on plan B. She walked up to the nearest person and tugged on his sleeve. When the soldier on duty looked down, she said, "Have you seen Conrad?"_

_The guard knelt down and said, "Last I heard, he was over at the stables. Do you want me to take you there?"_

"_That's okay, you don't have to," Ysabel shouted over her shoulder._

_Ysabel found the stabling yards soon enough. She raced past people and occasionally stopped to respond to their greetings and receive pats on the head. Soon after, she found herself standing in the main stables._

_She slowly walked deeper into the building. Near the end of the structure, she saw a young boy stroking a brown horse. She approached him._

_She shyly tapped his shoulder. The youths exchanged smiles and Conrad said, "This is my horse."_

"_Really?" Ysabel gasped. "I haven't ridden one yet."_

_Conrad's face spilt into a grin as he held up a saddle. "You want to try?"_

* * *

_In no time at all, Ysabel was up in the saddle._

"_That's right, just hold on tight to the reins," Conrad instructed. He led his horse by the bridle in small circles in the stable._

_All of a sudden, Conrad's horse stopped in its tracks. A bumble bee had landed on its nose! The horse, spooked, tried to shake the bee off, which only resulted in getting stung._

_Ysabel was thrown out of the saddle, but because she was holding the reins, she slipped down and landed beside the now bucking horse. Ysabel lay scared stiff on her back. She jammed her eyes closed as hard as she could and her hand shot up to cover her face, expecting the horse to run over her._

_Ysabel opened her eyes in surprise when her body did not feel the expected force. Conrad was on all fours above her, using himself as a shield. "Conrad…"_

_Quickly, Conrad's right arm encircled her waist and half-carried half-dragged Ysabel away from the horse._

_The horse had calmed by the time both children reached the far wall. Conrad leaned Ysabel against the wall and knelt before her. "Are you hurt?" he asked._

"_I'm fine, but your shoulder…"_

_Conrad moved his right hand to his left shoulder. "It's nothing. Luckily," Conrad smiled as he continued. "It wasn't a direct hit."_

_Ysabel scooted over to see Conrad's wound. "Let me see that."_

_A gasp of pain escaped his lips when Ysabel applied only slight pressure on his left shoulder. "I think it's broken…" Ysabel said quietly. Her eyes were shining… It was all her fault… If she hadn't come looking for him…_

_As if reading her thoughts, Conrad smiled and said, "I'm glad you came," _

_Tears were rolling down her cheeks, and suddenly, he felt warmth spread slowly through his shoulder. A green ball of light had erupted from Ysabel's palm, then after awhile, it slowly dimmed._

_Conrad moved his shoulder around a few times, apart from being a bit stiff, it was as good as new. "It's completely healed, how did you do that?"_

"_Father says one is able to use Majutsu when one has the great desire to protect something," Ysabel replied._

_Baffled by the reply, Conrad stood up and said, "Come on, we better get back to the ceremony."_

* * *

Sarah pulled her blouse over her head. After thinking through dreams one and two, she still couldn't figure out what they meant or why she was having them. Maybe dream three would clear the fog a bit…

_Ysabel sat down on the floor, watching Lord Weller and Conrad pressing attacks, exchanging parries and occasionally, dodges._

_The Newborn's Ceremony had dragged on that morning, not that it wasn't interesting, they were pretty lights and everything, but Ysabel could practically recite everything Ulrike said from top to bottom._

_After the ceremony was done, her parents had gone to see the maou, leaving her outside to play._

"_Ysabel." Dan Hiri brought her out of her thoughts. He held out the hilt of one of the many training swords which were lying on the floor. "What do you say?"_

_Ysabel looked up and gave an unsure nod. She got onto her feet and brushed the back of her dress. Taking the hilt of the sword, she came to stand opposite Conrad. The sword, though light by all standards, felt heavy in her hand. "This one's a lot heavier than the one father got me," she noted aloud._

"_Oh?" Dan Hiri looked genuinely surprised. "Charles taught you to handle a sword already? You're only eight."_

_Ysabel merely shrugged. She tightened her grip on the hilt and spread her weight equally between both legs._

"_Now, let's take it slow," Dan Hiri started._

_The children exchanged light blows while Dan Hiri coached and commented at the sidelines._

_Their swords clashed together, each of them strained to keep their swords from falling to the other's force. Each took a step closer to each other so they might better their hold. Suddenly, Ysabel leaned in and brushed her lips lightly against Conrad's cheek._

_Conrad, stunned at the unexpected course of action, failed to keep pressure on his sword. Ceasing the opportunity, Ysabel flicked her wrist and twisted the sword out of Conrad's hand, successfully disarming him and before anyone could fully processed what had happened, Ysabel held the tip of her sword inches away from Conrad's throat._

_Ysabel was breathing hard. Then, her mood lightened. "I won!" she cried happily. "How was that, Lord Weller?" She looked over in Dan Hiri's direction._

_Dan Hiri had an eye brow raised and his eyes were a little wide. "That," Dan Hiri began. "Was an interesting move."_

"_Oh that," Ysabel said sheepishly. "That's my secret move. I call it 'Camarade's Angel'. Like it?"_

"_It was…" Dan Hiri was at a lost for words._

"_Effective," Conrad finished, sheathing his sword. All three of them laughed._


	2. Dreams part 2

Sarah stringed all the dreams together, but they just seemed to be random, except for the fact that it the dreams all took place at the same time of year. And then she thought of her forth dream, which threw her conclusion out the window.

_Ysabel looked out from the balcony of her room. A column of riders were approaching the castle. Joy swelled up in Ysabel when her father had told her that the maou's family was coming was coming for a visit. It had been nearly a year since they've seen each other._

_She headed out her room and made her way to the main hall. She passed the guest wing where a few maids and butlers were busy preparing rooms for the coming guests. Lady Cecilie was a good queen and all but she was also known to be very spontaneous. Word of their arrival was heard of by rider who announced that the royal family was fifteen minutes away._

_By the time she exited the main doors to the courtyard, grooms were already rushing forwards to take the guests' horses. She spotted her parents talking to Lady Cecilie. She ran over to greet them._

_When she peered into the carriage, she noticed that they were a few more people accompanied Celi and her family. Ysabel recognized them immediately as the Wincott family. She greeted Dan Hiri and Celi first then greeted Lord and Lady Wincott and their daughter, Julia, in turn._

_When that was done, she walked over to a brown horse. Conrad wore a hoodless purple traveler's cloak with a large red broach which held it in place. Conrad slid down from his saddle and helped another boy who rode behind off._

_The boy had orange hair and blue eyes. When Conrad saw her, he smiled. He motioned to the boy that accompanied him. "This is my new friend, Josak."_

"_Hello," Ysabel said brightly. "I'm Ysabel."_

_Josak seemed a bit intimidated at first but slowly after, he became more open and smiled. At that moment, pages filtered out of the castle to take the baggage and show the guest to their rooms._

"_You should make yourselves comfortable," Ysabel continued. "You know, next time, you should really consider informing us earlier. You threw our master of ceremonies into quite a fit." She said the last statement with a giggle._

_Conrad smiled._

* * *

Sarah stopped in her tracks on the stairs. Out of all the dreams she had, the forth seemed the most… pointless… of course, she remembered she couldn't really sleep that night so maybe she just woke up before it finished. 

Putting that behind her, she recalled the fifth dream.

_Ysabel appeared to be in a carriage again._

_Their carriage door opened when they arrived at the main doors of Blood Pledge Castle. They were escorted to the castle's ballroom. Inside, many nobles stood mingling with each other. A herald announced their arrival and several of the nobles nodded in greeting._

_Ysabel followed her parents through the maze of people. Instead of her usual violet attire, her parents had asked her to put on a white flowing dress. Her hair was tied up in the latest fashion and was decorated with a few pieces of jewelry._

_Finally, she spotted the person she was looking for. She tugged lightly at her mother's gown._

_After being informed where her daughter was going, she and her husband watch warmheartedly as their daughter disappeared into the crowd of people. "You don't think…" Charles started._

_Robyn shrugged. "Only time will tell…"_

* * *

_Conrad stood dressed in a dark blue outfit that looked a lot like a uniform. He smiled and waved when he saw Ysabel. "You look great today," they both said at the same time. They laughed sheepishly._

"_Happy Birthday," Ysabel said, ending the awkwardness._

"_Thanks," Conrad smiled. Just then, Lady Cecilie walked over to the two youths. "Why don't you two dance?" she suggested. Ysabel took a sideward glance at Conrad. A hint of scarlet could be seen on his cheeks as he seemed to shy away and the suggestion._

"_That's okay," Ysabel said. "I can't dance very well…"_

_The maou merely smiled and walked away muttering something that neither youth could make out. Conrad breathed out heavily and mouthed the words: Thank you._

_Ysabel stifled a giggle behind one hand. "So, why don't you want to dance?" Conrad looked slightly uneasy and when he looked like he wanted to brush the question off, Ysabel pouted mockingly and said, "Come on, tell me…"_

_Conrad sighed. "Fine…" he pursed his lips a bit then said, "Cause I can't."_

_Ysabel looked skeptical. "That's it?"_

"_Yeah," Conrad said, surprised that was all his friend had to say. "Isn't it enough?"_

"_That's hardly a problem," Ysabel said matter-of-factly._

"_Can you dance?"_

"_Sure."_

_Conrad's expression lightened. "Then, why don't you teach me?"_

_Ysabel was a bit astonished at Conrad's unexpected request. "Here?"_

"_Um…" Conrad thought for awhile. "No, come on, follow me." He started running through the chatting nobles. Silently, they slipped out of the ballroom and out into the marshalling yard. Though little did they know that they're every movement was being watched._

* * *

"_Can you ride yet?" Conrad asked as he led her into the stables._

"_Yea, but I still haven't quite gotten the hang of it yet," came her reply._

"_Then you'd better ride with me," Conrad said as he took her to one of the last stalls. He saddled his horse and mounted. Once he was firmly on, he offered his hand down to help the girl below mount._

_Ysabel encircled her arms around Conrad's waist to steady herself as they rode out. Conrad steered his horse to a portion of the castle grounds Ysabel had never been to, mostly because it was too far._

_It was another garden. "Apparently, your mom likes flower gardens," she noted aloud._

_Conrad looked over his shoulder and smiled at her. "You could say that."_

_He slid off his saddle and turned to help Ysabel off, but found that she was already off and mounting the steps into structure. The structure consisted of six columns and a roof. It was practically large enough to be a dance floor._

_Conrad tied his horse to one of the columns and followed after the girl. Conrad took his jacket off and slung it over a bench near the steps. "Shall we begin then? We shouldn't disappear for too long a time."_

_Ysabel started off by showing Conrad a few steps and the proper way they were suppose to be executed. Then, she asked him to come to the center of the floor so that she could teach him waltz. She put his left hand on her waist and placed hers on his shoulder. She took his right._

"_One, two, three… One, two, three…" Ysabel counted. "Don't look down at your feet so much."_

_Time ticked away as Conrad slowly mastered each step. At every misstep, Ysabel would lightly chide him, but overall, Conrad was doing great. They covered a few styles of dancing, all of which Conrad gradually mastered._

"_I think that's all," Ysabel said stepping back from him._

"_Thanks," he thanked her. "It's about time we get back too."_

_Conrad retrieved his jacket and buttoned it on. They mounted and headed back. When they reached the marshalling yard, a surprising scenario greeted them. Soldiers and servants alike were scrambling all over the area._

_One of the veterans spotted them and shouted to his comrades. By the time Conrad and Ysabel were off the mount, they were mobbed by soldiers and staff asking questions._

_Too many people talk at a time. Neither Ysabel nor Conrad could make out anything they said. "What's going on?" Conrad's tone suddenly turned officer-like and Ysabel immediatly knew it was not his age but his rank that was talking.  
_

_His tone successfully hushed the crowd. "Young lord, the maou sent out searching parties for you and the young lady," said one of the soldiers._

_Conrad stood perplexed. "Why, we were only gone for what? One, two hours?"_

"_Try five, young sir," a staff supplied._

_Conrad and Ysabel exchanged troubled, wide eyed glances. "Uh oh…" both children muttered._

_Conrad threw the reins of his horse to one of the soldiers. "Brush him down for me," he said as he grabbed Ysabel's wrist and ran straight for the ballroom._

_They entered the ballroom and saw almost the same scenario they saw in the marshalling yard. Ysabel could hear Conrad mutter 'Whoops'. "Ysabel!" "Conrad!" their parents called out when they saw them enter, they rushed forwards._

"_Where have you two been?" Charles inquired. "We were so worried."_

_Conrad spoke first. "Ysabel was just teaching me how to dance, so we went out into the back garden," Conrad explained._

_Before anyone could speak, Celi smiled and said, "Well then, let's see your results."_

_This time, both youths' cheeks were tinted as they were ushered to the center of the ballroom. The eyes of every noble in Shin Makoku were now on them. They took their positions for waltz as the musicians struck up a tune. They carried out each step with enough grace to surpass a swan's._

* * *

Sarah sipped her hot tea. So far, all these dreams seemed to be highlights in Ysabel's life. Except for the seventh dream she had that is. She searched the mind, for some reason, she couldn't remember what the sixth was. Then, slowly, it all came back to her. 

_Ysabel held her breath._

"_Now," her father said. "Release."_

_Ysabel let her arrow fly. It sped across the fifty paces and found its mark on the third ring from the center with a firm thud._

"_Not bad for a first try," Charles commented as he stood up from his kneeling position. "Keep practicing and you'll be an expert in no time."_

_Ysabel nodded happily. She turned around. "Hello Conrad," she said brightly._

_Conrad blinked in surprise. "You knew I was here?"_

"_I heard you," was all she said._

"_Conrad," Charles said. "When did you get here?"_

"_We just arrived," the boy answered._

"_We? Your family's here too?"_

"_Yes, mother sent a rider to inform you twenty minutes ago," he smiled._

_(Sweatdrop) "Well," Ysabel said. "At least she gave us five minutes more to prepare than the last time…"_

"_Robyn must have received the message then, I was out here the whole morning," Charles said. "Well then, I'll go and greet our guests." He turned to Ysabel. "Why don't you stay here a bit longer to practice?" She nodded and he made his way back into the castle._

"_This must be the first time I've seen you not in a dress," Conrad teased. "I must say, you look good though."_

_As expected, Ysabel blushed at the slightest bit of complimentary or flattery. Today, because her father had offered to teach her archery, she had donned a white shirt and leggings with violet trimmings. Lastly, instead of letting her hair down, it was gathered up into a pony tail._

_Ysabel took an arrow out of a quiver on the floor and drew it back till her cheek. Without her father there to correct her form, she barely remembered how it was done. A hand appeared and tilted her aim higher and then off to the right. "Your aim is off," Conrad explained._

"_You're tensing," he observed. "Relax."_

"_Now, slowly breathe out as you let it fly." She did so and her shot fell on the second ring. "Your father was right," he said. "You do have talent."_

_Then, something caught his eye. "I never noticed that before," he said, indicating a patch of darker skin on her palm._

_Ysabel turned her hand over and saw what he meant. Her face split into grin. "Well, took you long enough." She fingered the design on her palm. "It's just a birthmark."_

"_Not many birthmarks I've seen are in the perfect shape of a dove."_

_Ysabel smiled. "This was the reason I called that move 'Camarade's Angel'."_

"_Speaking of which," Conrad said as a thought came to mind. "I've been meaning to ask you something since that training session with my father three years ago."_

_She cocked her head, indicated he should continue. "What does 'camarade' mean? I don't think I've heard of that word before."_

_Ysabel smiled. "I was thinking when someone would ask me that. But, yea, you've heard of the word before… sort of, that is."_

"_You see, I was in the library looking through some books, and then I came across this think one that looked like a dictionary. Apparently, 'camarade' is 'comrade' in one of the human languages."_

_Conrad blinked in surprise. "'Comrade's Angel', huh? Oh… makes sense, I suppose."_

_Ysabel smiled._

* * *

The dreams just didn't make sense at all. Actually, more than making Sarah pondered why she was having them, they were freaking her out. Thinking of the sixth dream made her finger the birthmark on her palm as well. 

Sarah looked down on the outfit she had throw on and for a reason that she couldn't name, she felt the sudden urge to change it.

She made her way up the stairs and into her bedroom. She opened her wardrobe and changed into a simple white dress. Then, she noticed that a new piece of clothing lay folded on top of a stack.

She took it out and unfolded it. _Is this some kind of joke? _It was a black cloak.

She held it with one hand and closed her wardrobe with her other. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw a figure standing behind.

"Hello Sarah," the blond man said. The man looked like he just came back from a cosplay convention as he wore a crimson cape over his polished armor.

Sarah's eyes widened then her expression softened. "Great," she muttered out loud. "Later tonight, I'll know exactly what to write in my dairy: Dear diary, today is my birthday and I recalled all the weird dreams I've had during the week. Then five minutes later, I start hearing things and hallucinating."

The man looked as if Sarah had injured his pride. "Sarah…" he began.

Sarah clasped her ears with her palms and said, "I can't hear anything from you because you're my hallucination!"

"Sarah…" he started again.

Sarah shot him a look of daggers and said, "Forget it, Shinou." And before he could say anything, Sarah walked out of her room.

Shinou rolled his eyes and followed after her. "Sarah…" he said again as he tried to get her attention.

"I'm hallucinating and you're going to disappear any second now," she said as she walked down the stairs.

Shinou strode behind her. "I'm not your hallucination," he tried to explain.

"Yes, you are," Sarah insisted. She stopped in her tracks making Shinou bump into her. "In fact," she started. "Do you know what you are?" she said as she turned back to face him. She jammed her finger into his shoulder as she marked every point. "You are _fictional_, you are _unreal_, and you are _imaginary_!" she screamed into his face. "And _me_?" she continued.

Shinou rolled his eyes and leaned against the wall as he waited for her to stop raving.

"Iam _real_, Iam _flesh and blood_, and Iam _DREAMING_!" With that, she stormed down the remaining steps.

Shinou followed the raving girl into a room full of shelves. Sarah opened a drawer and started flipping through the files inside.

"What are you doing?" Shinou inquired.

"I'm checking if I've had any medical history, at least that would explain why this is happening," Sarah murmured.

"You don't have any medical history," Shinou assured her.

"Then, what the _hell _is going on here?" she shouted.

"Today is your birthday and I am merely giving you a present," Shinou said.

"Okay… I'll go along this for awhile. What present?"

"I need an agent on earth, to help me manipulate events in Shin Makoku."

"You already have Ken to do that," Sarah said as she stormed into the kitchen.

"Ken is non-existing right now; I need you to do it."

"Forget it, get some other fan girl to do that," Sarah said as she turned around to face him, over-turning her teacup in the process.

"Didn't you like the presents I gave you over the week?" Shinou asked.

"The dreams?"

Shinou shook his head. "No, the memories."

* * *

"Memories?" Sarah repeated in disbelieve. "But… how?" 

Shinou turned away and started to walk. "If you want more answers, you'll just going to have to come and see me in the Original King's Temple. You won't need Ulrike's help to contact me though. Oh, and one more thing," he threw Sarah the cloak which she dropped in her room. "You'll need this." Then, he started to fade.

"Wait, I'm not done raving and/or questioning yet," Sarah said as she moved to grab his wrist but found that her hand move right through his.

Looking over his shoulder, he said, "Sarah, too bad that dye doesn't last very long, I wish you the best of luck. God speed." Then he faded into nothingness.

Sarah stood alone in the middle of the kitchen for some time. She had dyed her hair just last night, but what did that have to do with anything? _Wait… _She groaned aloud. _Please don't tell me… I might as well avoid water for the rest of my life._

She needed to sit down. She crossed to the table but as soon as she took that first step, she kept falling…

* * *

_I refuse to open my eyes… I refuse to open my eyes…_

Sarah opened her eyes. The brilliant sunlight blinded her for a while then she sat up and surveyed her surroundings. She lay on a beach with a canopy of trees behind her. She didn't need any Demon King to tell her where Shinou had dropped her.

She stood up. _Panicking won't do me any good and neither will lying to myself; I know very well I'm not dreaming. _She threw the cloak Shinou had given her over her shoulders and fastened it.

"Fine, Shinou," she muttered under her breath. "I don't know how I'm supposed to get to Shin Makoku from here and I don't know how I'm supposed to survive without the currency here, but I'll play along with this." She paused, and then added. "If it doesn't get me killed."

She picked up her feet and headed deeper into Big Simaron.

* * *

_a/n:_

_End of Chapter one: Dreams, I hoped you all enjoyed it. Forgive any typos! I'd appreciate it if anyone might point them out._

_Ysabel is pronounced Ye-za-bell (Roughly). Heh, just thought I'd point that out. _

**_i love athrun_****_: Thanks for your review! I hope you liked this new upload._**

_Please Review! Reviews are my INSPARATION! _

_Stay tuned for further chapters and until then,  
_

_Cheers,_

_Val._


	3. A woman in the army

**Author's note: **Okay, okay, so I admit, the first chapter was a bit corny, but forgive me, this is but my first attempt at romance.

**Disclaimer: **Sadly, I don't own Kyou Kara Maou or its characters. But the OC and Plot are mine… xD _sliver lining…_

**Chapter 2**

"On your mark," the corporal shouted.

Sarah crouched down low behind the line.

"Get set…"

She held her breath and tensed.

"GO!"

Sarah kicked off as she raced against four other cadets. Up ahead, she saw the first obstacle: a pit with beams forming a square. Three ropes we tied at equal distance in the middle.

Not slowing her pace, she reached the edge and jumped. She caught the middle most one and swung to the other side. Out in the corner of her eyes, she saw that Vincent and Mark and managed to grab hold of the ropes first, leaving Matthew and Patrick to wait for the second round.

Sarah made it across to and landed lightly on the other side. Immediately, she was off again. There was no time to enjoy or celebrate the minor victory as the second obstacle came into view: low barb wires.

She fell forwards and crawled through as fast as she could. She didn't wait to see how closely the other's behind followed.

Clearing the second element, she now faced a blank wall that stood at least ten feet high. This time, only two lengths of rope hung lifelessly in the middle. Vincent now ran neck and neck to each other and Mark was only a little ways off.

Sarah and Vincent swiftly scaled up the wall and they both reached the top at the same time but as Vincent started to climb down the other side of the wall, his eyes widened when he saw Sarah totally ignore the rope and jumped. Sarah tucked and rolled just as she hit the ground. Again, she was on her feet in no time.

Sarah sniggered inwardly. Every moment she could steal to get ahead was priceless and having Vincent temporarily stunned at her stunt brought her all the time she needed. Reflexes kicked in when Sarah dove to her right. A small object hit the spot where Sarah had occupied seconds ago. It was some sort of an arrow, except that instead of a sharpened point, it was a smooth surfaced rock the size of a man's fist. Hardly something to seriously injure someone but a well aimed hit on the shoulder guaranteed a dislocation.

In the blink of an eye, Sarah had her sword out of her scabbard and started hacking and dodging her way through the rain of arrows. Shouts and curses could be heard by those who weren't as fast as her in analyzing the situation.

She knew she was nearing the end of the course. Sword in hand, she advanced. As she ran, her eyes darted around endlessly, preparing for anything to come her way. Suddenly, her eyes shot upwards as they followed an object in its course. As it was about to fall back down again, Sarah leaped high into the air with as much strength as she could muster, and lashed out with her sword.

She knew she was expected to cut the log of wood into as many pieces as possible before moving on. Finding her feet were once again on the ground, she ran forwards without waiting to see the results.

Ignoring the satisfying clank of wood and gasps of astonishment from nearby spectators, Sarah slipped her sword back into its scabbard. _There shouldn't be anymore obstacles._

The finish line was now only a few feet away but just as she was about to cross it, she saw a quick movement in the crowd at the edge of her vision. A glint of light reflecting off metal caused her body to fall back as she skidded under the blade intended for her neck.

Before she made contact with the soil, she flipped her body as her sword flew into her hand. She dug the tip of her shoes into the earth and used her free hand to balance her almost horizontal body. She shifted all her weight on her left hand and swung her legs around, taking the attacker off his feet.

The attacker fell to the ground and Sarah now stood above him. The familiarity struck her instantly and she lowered her sword point from the corporal's neck.

"Corporal?" she turned her gaze back to where the course started. True enough, there was nobody there.

"Nicely done," he said as he stood up and brushed himself clean.

* * *

Three figures stood away from the crowd that now surrounded the newcomer and the corporal. 

"Who is that new cadet?" General Foster inquired. He was a tall man with solid features and a lean body. He wore a white coat and had a sword belted at his side.

"Sarah Howls, enlisted two months ago," supplied the captain.

Foster nodded and merely said, "Send her up to my office later." With that the general walked away.

The captain nodded to his sergeant and he too walked away from the training grounds. The sergeant acknowledge the order given and started shouting orders to the cadets.

* * *

Sarah knocked on the door. 

"Come in," a voice said a moment later.

Sarah swung the wooden door open and hesitantly sauntered in. General Foster's office was simple: a desk and shelves that dominated the room. Foster sat behind his desk with a quill in his hand. On the right corner of his desk was a brown box. He put down his quill and motioned for her to come closer.

There was an uneasy silence in the room then suddenly, the general leaned back against his chair and gave a throaty chuckle which only increased the apprehensiveness. "I thought my captain was mad when I heard he accepted you, a woman in the army…" Foster said. "But," he continued. "You came here two months ago, not even knowing how to hold a sword, to beating your superiors in combat."

Sarah wasn't sure where this conversation was headed. After landing in Simaron, she thought she would at least learn how to defend herself and get paid at the same time. Truth to tell, she was amazed that her dye held up this long. Wasn't her hair growing at all?!

"You could easily be one of the most gifted swordsmen I've seen," Foster said with a grin. "Makes me wonder if you have any ties with the Wellers."

Sarah tensed. Did that mean that they suspected her as a spy for the Mazoku? Her mind raced. If they did, this would be the end of her _very _short adventure which Shinou had so willfully put her on.

"But at least we know you're not of demon blood," Foster confirmed. Seeing Sarah raise an eyebrow, he pulled opened his top drawer and produced a red glowing gem stone. _Hoseki? _"Least you find it difficult to approach my desk."

_Sly bastard. _"Anyway," Foster said. "Testing whether you are of Demon blood is not the point of this conversation." He stood up in his seat. "Keeping you as a cadet would only be a waste of your talent." He slid the box over to Sarah. "You've been promoted to the rank of 'captain'," he said with another grin. "This is your new uniform, report tomorrow morning to be assigned a troop."

Filled with relieve mixed with surprise, Sarah picked up the box, saluted and left the room.

Once the door was closed, Sarah turned to walk back to her quarters only to bump into someone. They both fell to ground. Wincing slightly, Sarah looked up to see who she had knocked. The man looked around her age. He had orange hair and blue eyes. Somehow, he looked familiar.

He stood up and offered his hand to help Sarah get up. "Sorry," he said with a smile. "Wasn't looking."

Sarah took his hand. "No, it's okay," she said, still trying to remember who he was. But she just couldn't put her finger on it even as he rounded the bend of the corridor.

* * *

a/n: 

Thank you so much to all who read my first chapter and a special thanks to Renaissance IX who reviewed.

Oh, and if anyone would be kind enough to help me think of nice surnames to attach to my OC(s), I'd be enternally (if I ever live an eternity, that is) grateful.

Please stay tuned for more chapters and until then,

Forever,

_Val._


	4. Council and the Gibbet

**Author's Note: **So Chappy 3 is up now, I hope you'll all enjoy it!

**Disclaimer: **Sadly, I don't own Kyou Kara Maou or its characters. But the OC and Plot are mine… xD _sliver lining…_

**Chapter 3**

Sarah stood in olive colored uniform by the sidelines overseeing the new recruits. She left her coat in her tent as it was a hot day and she kept her pewter pendent in her shirt. Her hair was now long enough to be gathered up in a short pony-tail and she now wore fingerless gloves that helped her grip her hilt more easily. She found that after a month's worth of commanding, she regarded the leaders before her in a new light. The alias name 'Howls' had also served its purpose well enough.

Two week before, she had received orders to take a light company up into the mountain terrains for drilling. Her light company consisted of fifty recruits. She had been given the right to name her own sergeant and corporal, leaving them to bully the new cadets into shape.

Considering she never liked the humans in this world, she was less than enthusiastic in passing on her knowledge and skills to the enemy. And thinking of that made her wonder: why was she so good at fighting? For all she knew, she had never ever held a sword in her entire life.

She drew herself out of her thoughts as she looked up again to check on the soldiers. She watched emotionlessly as fifty soldiers fell over themselves trying to anticipate their commander's next orders. Seeing that everything was in a somewhat chaotic order, she let her mind wander again.

She knew if she were to ever get a chance to get back to earth, it would be to travel to Shin Makoku to talk with Shinou. As a low life cadet, she thought that she might have been able to sneak out of the city one night, pass the sentries and not cause too much of a fuss, but now that she had been promoted to captainship… What kept her here as a cadet for two months was: one, she found that the sentries were as thick as lice on a beggar and two, she was curious.

The humans were preparing for something and one thing was for sure: it was big. From what she overheard in the officer's mess, training had never been so intense and they were recruiting as many people as possible. Then something struck her, in the full three months she had resided in human territory, she hadn't even found out who was ruling in Shin Makoku.

She looked up at the sound of someone fall to the ground. Her sword was already half out of it scabbard when she saw that it was only her sergeant 'teaching' one of the smart-mouthed cadets a lesson. Sliding the sword back, she concluded that this wasn't exactly the best place to be musing and decided to resume it in the main tent.

As she walked towards her private tent, she then remembered the person she had bumped into the day she got her promotion. He looked so very familiar yet she just couldn't put her finger on whom he was. Orange hair and blue eyes, she was sure she'd seen him before. The morning she had reported in, she was surprised to find that he was one of the many under her command. He was remarkably gifted with the sword as well. But for an unknown reason, after two weeks, he was removed from her command.

She reached her tent and opened the flap. But before she could take a step in, she turned as the sound of a rider approaching. The rider, a scout or messenger by the looks of it, was admitted into the campsite by the stationed guards. Sighing, she retrieved her coat and turned back to meet with the newcomer.

Sarah slid her coat as she let the rider draw closer. The rider dismounted and took something out of his horse's sling bag. He gave it to Sarah.

Sarah opened the parchment and began reading it. Her eyes slowly widened as she progressed further down the parchment. After reading the message twice over, she lowered the parchment and for awhile, was lost in thought.

After a few tensed moments, her sergeant asked, "Captain?"

Sarah looked up. She folded the paper and slipped it into her coat. To the rider, she said, "You're done here, restock on provisions if you must, then resume on your orders." The rider nodded then led his mount away. To her sergeant and corporal, she said, "Saddle up; we're leaving for the city. I want every soldier ready to ride within the hour." They nodded and left to execute the orders.

For a brief moment, she thanked her lucky stars that she had always been interested in fantasy books with wars and battles. That was the only reason she had been able to give orders without too much hesitation, or so she hoped. Then she turned in the direction of where the city lay over two days worth of hard riding, now she knew which era Shinou had dropped her in.

* * *

Sarah had to hold her tongue more than once to stop herself from cursing her own stupidity every mile of road they traveled. She should have been able to figure it out herself and if what she presumed was correct, she wanted to be there before anyone made any decisions. 

She had pushed the horses and her troop to their limits reaching Big Simaron, only dismounting to walk the horses when absolutely necessary, whatever it took to get back to the palace as soon as possible. At around midmorning, a group of exhausted soldiers cantered into the city.

Sarah left her sergeant and corporal to oversee the recruits as they unsaddled their horses while she made her way up the stairs and into the castle. A page stood at the door and offered to escort her.

Sarah was escorted to the forth floor where all the military experts were holding council. A herald announced her arrival and she was bided entry. Inside, there was a large table that dominated most of the room. Around it sat a dozen other captains and generals. Once inside, she was acknowledged and greeted with nods. Then, Foster indicated she should take the only remaining empty seat.

"As I was saying," said a man whom Sarah didn't know by name. "The Mazoku are restless, we must act now." Sarah's eyes narrowed a little at this comment.

Foster put his elbows on the table and placed his finger tips together to form a tent. "But we must first find a weak spot, a guarantee that we'd crushed them. We gain nothing by acting rash."

After a few moments of silence, a man stood. "I have a proposal," he said. Foster motioned for him to continue. He asked a page to bring over a map of the battle lines. "Here," he pointed to a specific area. "Are the front lines. This is a less then defensible location for the Mazuko, and unless they have an itch for sacrificing the bulk of their army, they won't have a chance of winning. I'm quite confident that if we break through here, we'll gain a tidy bit of advantage against the demons."

A few men nodded in agreement. Since the man was quite far away, she couldn't see anything on the map. "And here," he pointed to a new location. "This city is pretty important to the demons as well. If it were to fall…" he left the sentence unfinished.

Foster leaned over to get a better look at the map, and then pointed out, "But this, unlike the front lines, _is _a defensible position. True, if it was to fall here and we break through at the front lines, we'd have them. But I don't think we can risk sending our experienced to face that." He shook his head. "That's too much of a risk."

The man split a grin that could only be labeled as evil. "That's why we're doing the exact opposite."

A few eyes widened and some mouths fell slightly open, including Sarah's. "You mean to send the latest recruits." one man gasped, it wasn't a question.

"As bait, yes," continued the man, expressionless. "While we station our more experience veterans behind them. Let the demons tire first. In addition to that, we can slip more people around the battle zone and have them take the demons from behind. The city will fall within a week's time." He drew a path on the map with one finger.

And to Sarah's horror, she saw many around the table recover instantly and nod in agreement. They were actually _agreeing _to sacrifice a whole company of _new _soldiers… _as bait! These people were heatless!_

"Captain Howls," Foster said.

Sarah immediately snapped back to attention and said, "Yes?"

"I'd like _you _to lead your troops in the front line battle," he said as he slid the map across the table. "I've seen your troop in action, they have potential, eventually, they'll make good enough veterans," he continued. "The terrain is to our advantage and you will have also have the advantage of numbers. It should be an easy win and as a new captain, I'll let you take this battle."

The map skidded to a halt in front of her and when she saw it clearly, a lump was caught at her throat and her eyes widened slightly again. In the middle of the map, there was a label with the words: Front Lines. And right beneath that label, was another. Sarah whispered, "Luttenburg."

* * *

Time stopped. Everything froze around her. Scenes of the anime she loved flashed through her mind. The _Luttenburg division… Almost no survivors… _

If she led the battle, she'd be killing the half-blooded Mazoku that were volunteering and prepared to die. But if she didn't put up a fight, she'd be unnecessarily sacrificing her own troop. Neither was a solution… What was she going to do?

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. A page came in and walked over to where Foster sat. The page leaned over his shoulder and whispered something into Foster's ear. Foster nodded understandingly and dismissed the page. Standing up, he said, "Gentlemen, unfortunately as military representatives, we have to attend the public hanging which is ready to start the minute we get there."

Sarah raised an eyebrow in alarm. She wasn't informed of such a thing; nonetheless, she followed as everyone filtered out of the room. She suddenly felt the powerful urge to do something to stop the death sentence, then suddenly mentally laughed at herself for thinking of such: wanting to save someone from a death sentence without even knowing who it was or what he was convicted for.

After they mounted, Sarah's horse fell beside Foster. Foster gave her a meaningful glance and said, "I just noticed that your hair color changed."

Sarah just shrugged. In truth, she had woken one day to find that the roots of her hair were starting to reveal her real hair color. She thought she might make a dramatic change instead of get the same color.

Everyone rode in silence and after mere minutes, the gibbet slowly came into view. The feeling of panic was overwhelming her. A hanging wasn't something you could witness and feel nothing about.

A crowd was gathered around the base while two men stood on the landing of the gibbet. One was definitely the executer and the other immediately registered in her mind. Seeing him in his normal outfit and with his cheesy smile in place, was none other then Josak Gurrier.

Seeing her hesitate vaguely, Foster said, "Josak Gurrier, accused of being a spy for the Mazoku, that alone was enough to get him a hanging. I also believe he was posing as one of the new recruits that so happened to be under you. That was why he was removed."

Sarah's eyes narrowed as she directed her sight to the nearby rooftops. A glint of light was sufficient to tell her what was about to happen. There was no way you could be facing the noose and still be smiling.

Sarah considered what she had to do but before she knew it, the herald had finished naming the accused of his crimes. _About a dozen of the named crimes were probably false. _Sarah noted silently.

She decided to wait a bit longer. Instead of watching the gibbet, she scanned the place she had seen the light. And just as the box was about to be kicked from under his feet, her patients were rewarded. Five black figures stood up and were about ready to jump down, but before anything progressed any further, Sarah shouted, "Wait!"

Everyone turned at the sound of her voice and the rooftop men had visibly faltered before crouching down out of sight again. Sarah turned to Foster, "This man was a spy posing as a soldier under _my _command. I consider this a personal insult. May I have to pleasure in executing him myself?"

Everyone, including Josak, was momentarily stunned speechless. Then, Foster indicated to the executioner to let her do as she wished. Sarah slid down from her horse and made her way to the gibbet.

Sarah came to stand beside the box and she heard Josak say, "You're going to regret this, captain."

Sarah turned back to face Josak, then smiled and said, "Not really, your five friends up there are quite poorly trained, next time, make sure you tell them to hide their swords more discreetly." The expression on Josak's face was priceless. She hoped she was right in guessing what was going to happen next. She drew her leg back and kicked the box. Instantly, a dagger flew from one of the rooftops and cut the rope. Josak landed on his feet.

Alarm spread through the crowd like a disease and the horses on which the military representatives rode panicked and buckled. As they were trying to regain control, the five figures jumped down from their hiding spots and down onto the landing.

Foster looked up to see one of his captain being roughly disarmed then knocked unconscious. Just then, his horse buckled again and threw him off his saddle. When he got up, the seven figures on the gibbet were gone.

* * *

a/n: 

So this is what I have so far. Please be critical and give it to me straight about what you think about it and how I can improve my writing. Thanks!

**To ****Torana**: Thanks for you're review! This chapter is dedicated to you, I hope you liked it.

**To Wizshan: **Thanks so much for adding me to your list, means a lot to me.

Until the next chapter,

Forever,

_Val_


	5. Uh oh 0o

**Author's Note: **_Thanks so much for reading my last chapter ._

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own Kyou Kara Maou or its characters but the OC and plot are mine... xD silver lining..._**  
**

**Chapter 4**

Sarah slowly regained consciousness. A dull pain rebounded endlessly on the side of her head. She kept her eyes closed as her other senses told her of her surroundings.

Touch told her that she was sitting, quite uncomfortably if I may add, on a cold steel floor. Moving her hands slightly, she found that her hands were bound by tight cords behind her back and the light weight by her waist said that her sword was no longer at her side. Also, she felt a strip of cloth around her head covering her eyes. _If only I could reach that dagger in my boot._

Smell told of something that took her awhile to register. But after her mind clear a bit, she identified it to be salt, salt water to be exact, which could only mean that she was now aboard a ship at sea.

Taste didn't do much to help her. The only thing taste did was remind her that she was thirsty, but that at least had told her that she had been out for a significant amount of time.

Hearing was priceless even though it was the last thing that came around. She heard the swishing of the waves. She could hear heavy footsteps of one… no, two different people pacing in the small room. The voices were muffled at first but then, they too slowly cleared up.

"What should we do with her?" one said. Sarah tried matching the voice to a face and found that it was Josak's.

"We're still trying to figure that out too," said another voice. This one was gruff sounding, hinted with a little bit of irritation. She didn't need anymore clues to tell her who he was.

"Actually, I'm curious to why she hasn't woken up yet, I wonder if I hit her too hard," Josak said with a bit of concern.

"Hmm… maybe," the second voice said. "You said she knew we were on the rooftops?"

"Yup," she heard Josak say as he sat down on what Sarah assumed to be a crate. "She even teased me about you guys not being careful enough with your swords."

"She is a Simaron captain, isn't she? Why didn't she tell any of her superiors?"

Knowing Josak, Sarah knew he was shrugging even without sight.

Sarah suddenly felt uneasy as she sensed two pairs of eyes settle on her. "Further more, she volunteered to kill you; it's as if she wanted to be captured, not to mention she didn't resist to us disarming her either."

Sarah thought she would gain nothing from eavesdropping on this conversation and finally decided to end the 'I'm-still-unconscious' act. Sweeping her legs around so she was in a kneeling position, she slid her hand into her boot.

Still a little woozy from being knocked out, she slowly stumbled up onto her feet. She leaned heavily on the wall and with a grin plastered on her face she said, "You know, when I decided I'd let you and your company capture me, I expected a few things." She flipped the blade in one hand and carried on cutting through her bonds as she continued. "But being tucked away under one of your ships and bound was not one of them, Your Excellency."

She let the ropes fall lifelessly to the ground. The pain of blood quickly rushing back to her hands was enough to cause her to gasp, but she bit back the urge to do so. She reached up with one hand and removed the blindfold. She was momentarily blinded at the sudden burst of light.

"How did you—" Gwendal was halfway through his question when Sarah held up her dagger before slipping it back into its hiding place.

"You need to work on disarming people as well," Sarah said as she absently rubbed her wrists to lessen the pain. Sarah thought it kind of ironic, her being the one giving instructions to trained veterans who've been in the army for decades while she had only experienced three months.

Both Gwendal and Josak recovered quickly. "Very well," Gwendal said as he narrowed his eyes. "Explain yourself."

The first thing Sarah noticed was that both men had their hands lightly placed on the hilts of their swords. _They don't really trust me, huh… Well… can't blame them, I'd be doing the same thing. Wait… if they're already this suspicious of me, I can't tell them what really happened to me or what I'm to do… Yeash! What am I suppose to do now?_

"Well, the way I see it, you owe me a favor," Sarah said before she could think. Seeing the expressions on their faces, she mentally kicked herself. _Why did I say that?_

"Oh? In what way?" asked Gwendal skeptically.

Well, it was too late to turn back now. "I could have ratted you out anytime during the hanging, but I didn't and neither did I stop it, so logically, you owe me."

Gwendal looked at Josak who shrugged. Turning back, his voice was still edgy when he said, "What do you seek in return for this… favor?"

It might have just been Sarah, but she felt as if Gwendal and Josak were ready to pull their swords anytime now and she was in no condition to defend herself, especially not with a dagger. She took a moment to carefully consider her words. "I need to get to the Original King's Temple to talk with His Majesty Shinou."

Both men blinked in surprise. Whatever they expected, this definitely wasn't it. "And what business does a Simaron Captain have with the Original King?" Josak asked.

Even though Sarah understood why they were acting so suspicions of her, she couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. Keeping a tight rein on her temper, she said, "That, unfortunately, is my business."

Sliding off the crate, Josak said, "Well, unfortunately, we can't have humans going freely into Shin Makoku either, let alone the Original King's Temple. So you best just tell us."

Seeing the lack of response, Gwendal said, "There's something very important you're not telling us and until I know what it is you're hiding, I will continue to count you as a threat and an enemy. You're no Simaron captain; or rather it wasn't your intention to become one. It doesn't really matter which." Turning around, he started to walk for the exit of the cell. "It takes Big Simaron's fastest ship two months to reach Shin Makoku with favorable winds, Shin Makoku's High Speed Hydrofoil cuts the journey time by half even without favorable winds, you have that long a time to convince me not to kill you."

Sarah bit her lower lip to stop herself from saying anything that could possibly make the situation any worse than it already was. Josak spared her a second glance, and then followed Gwendal out the door. The door creaked close and there was a small but still audible click of a lock.

Sarah stood alone in the room. In fury and frustration, Sarah suddenly struck the wall behind her. Then while nursing her knuckles, she absentmindedly wondered if she knew how to pick a lock. After all, she had been picking up extraordinary skills since coming here, one more wouldn't surprise her.

* * *

Gwendal and Josak strode down the passageway. Suddenly, a loud bang erupted from the room they had just exited.

"You know, Your Excellency, we forgot to take the dagger away from her," Josak said.

"No, we didn't. Besides, I doubt she'll be causing any trouble for us, we're the fastest way to her goal," Gwendal said.

"All that about you suspecting her to be a threat, you didn't really mean it, did you, You Excellency?"

"No, but she is hiding something very important and I want to know what it is," Gwendal replied. "And I need you to rummage out every single detail you can."

Josak shrugged. "Alright, alright, I got it," he said off-handedly.

* * *

The door clicked open and Sarah looked up as Josak came in carrying a food tray and her Simaron commanders' sword. "What's this?" asked Sarah as Josak set the tray on one of the nearby crates.

"It's called 'dinner', ever heard of it?" Josak said with feigned innocence. He ignored the dark look that Sarah threw him and gave her the sword.

"Oh? Am I any less of a threat now?" Sarah said suspiciously.

"No," Josak said as he settled down on a crate opposite Sarah. "There just wasn't any other place to conveniently put it."

Sarah studied him for awhile with narrowed eyes. "I never liked you anyway," she said finally.

"Well, you weren't exactly the best captain I've ever had either," he paused as he considered. "Though you might be one of the best slave drivers I've ever seen—oww…"

As Sarah slid her sword back into its scabbard and buckled it back on, Josak absently rubbed his cranium and said, "That hurt, what did you do that for?"

"Now that we've established the fact that we don't like each other, are we done exchanging insults?" Sarah asked with fists on her hips.

"Why do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Hit people over the head with your scabbard."

Sarah smiled sweetly and said, "It was conveniently in my hand. Plus, it's a whole lot better than hitting someone over head with the blade."

They exchanged hard looks, and then Josak said, "Fine."

Just then, a few drops of moisture fell on the sill of the small window. Josak raised an eyebrow. "That's strange…"

Sarah looked at him with keen interest. "What's so strange about the rain?"

Half rising, Josak replied, "There wasn't a single cloud in the sky when I came below." As if he was an actor on cue, a sailor on deck shouted, "All hands on deck! All hands on deck!" Josak and Sarah raced out of the room and joined the flow of sailors that were all rushing on deck.

The wind up above whipped her hair around in a frenzy. It was drizzling by the time they were clear of the stairs. Sailors ran back and forth on drenched deck, wasting not time to execute the given orders. They found Gwendal not far away, shouting orders over the howl of the wind to the first mate.

"What's going on, Your Excellency?" Josak half-shouted.

Pointing to over starboard, he shouted, "Waterspout."

They all looked over to where he pointed: a huge swirl of water was bearing them down. "We need to get away from that thing," Gwendal shouted. He spied the helmsman and shouted, "Hard to port!"

The helmsman struggled with the wheel to carry out the order. All of a sudden, the hydrofoil gave a lurch that propelled the helmsman into two fellows. Immediately, the nearest two sailors ran forward to assume control the now rapidly spinning wheel which was sending them in the wrong direction. Seeing that the two pulled no significant result, the helmsman and the two sailors who caught him ran forward to help.

With the man power of five, the ship finally responded. Suddenly, it gave a second lurch that sent Gwendal, Josak and Sarah sliding over to the side of the ship. The gods shunt them away as the lookout practically jumped out of the crow's nest shouting, "'Ware the mast!"

The spout was only a few miles off and the wind blew mercilessly. A loud cracking sound cut through the air as the mast gave way. Splinters flew in every direction as the mast came crashing towards the scurrying sailors.

Gwendal dove to the right while Josak and Sarah dove to the left. The impact of the mast sent the three of them off the side of the ship. Gwendal managed to grab a hold of the broken railing. However, Josak and Sarah weren't so lucky. Sarah braced herself as the water rushed up to embrace her.

* * *

Gwendal hung by one hand over the side of the ship. The railing, like every other part of the hydrofoil was damp and slippery. He could feel his hand slowly giving way until he hung by three fingers.

He spared a glance down towards to water. His eyes widened slightly when he saw the water was tinted red where Sarah and Josak had fallen. While he feared for the worst, something in the water caught his eye: a faint blue glow.

The glow grew brighter and brighter. The water around it started to churn rapidly and formed a whirlpool. Gwendal could feel the airstream grow steadily stronger until it was enough to lift his body.

Gwendal took the opportunity and swung his legs inside the boundary of the deck. He then crouched down low while bracing the wall of the ship to decrease the chance of being blow over the side again.

Gwendal looked in mute awe as a tower of water rose up and move on a drawn course. All the sailors on deck recognized the situation immediately and dropped to the ground.

The second spout slowly made contact with the first. Large heaps of water flew everywhere as the spouts deleted themselves. After a few tensed moments, the spouts both disappeared and the weather returned to normal.

Gwendal organized a search party but after an hour of labor, the two bodies were no where to be found.

* * *

Sarah awoke feeling wet and cold. She welcomed the warmth the fire offered her as she lay down. As her senses gradually came back to her, she tried propping herself up and immediately regretted in doing so.

Every bone in her body ached and her joints burned when she moved, causing her to groan. Hearing her own voice caused the pain to redouble and she fell back down to the rock floor. Content in just letting her body loll on the floor, she surveyed her new surroundings with her barely opened eyes.

The orange firelight cast a dim illumination on the jagged stone walls. The stone floor which she lay on was hard and sandy. She could hear the rhythmic beat of the waves on the seashore and the shuffling sound of someone walking in the sand.

Josak entered the mouth of the cave carrying a bundle of small braches. "Ah, so you're finally awake," he said as he set the bundle beside the fire.

Sarah's head rang as she slowly sat up. Holding her head with one hand, she closed her eyes. It seemed to help with the pain. "Where are we?"

Josak sat down on the floor opposite Sarah. "After being thrown into the sea, we… drifted, I guess, here."

"Huh?" Sarah asked, confused. "Why 'guess', and where is 'here'?"

"We're on a beach in Caloria, capital of Small Simaron. Which is odd 'cause it's a bit far for us to have 'drifted' here."

Sarah unconsciously rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Another beach?" she muttered bitterly under her breath. "You really like making my life a living hell, don't you, Shinou?"

"Double black," Josak said suddenly.

"Wha—?" Sarah was caught off-guard.

"You're a double black." It wasn't a question.

Before Sarah could say anything, a mirror materialized in Josak's hand. "Hello beautiful," Josak said with a grin.

As Sarah stared wide-eyed at her reflection, Josak's grin broadened as he asked, "Say, did you know that dye washes off when coming in contact with salt water?"

* * *

**A/n:**

_Lol, I personally liked the ending best in this Chapter. Do review and comment. You can flame if if you want to... really, you can._

**To Torana: **Yay, thank you so so so much for you support. I hope I didn't disappoint you with this chapter.

_Forever,_

_Val._


	6. The First Step

**Author's note: **_Thanks all so much for those who read my last chapter. Really appreciate it ._

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own Kyou Kara Maou or any of it's characters but the OC and plot are mine... heh, silver lining xD..._**  
**

**Chapter 5**

Sarah took off her white Simaron coat and folded it while Josak put out the fire. If she was going to have to journey to Shin Makoku on foot, she didn't want to look like a Big Simaron commander.

"We need to get you a cloak," Josak said. "With that hair and eye color, you might as well waltz into Caloria holding a sign saying: 'I'm the Maou'."

Sarah gave him a flat look, "Thank you for your dry humor, I _so_ needed it."

"You're welcome," Josak said, smiling from ear to ear. Obviously, sarcasm wasn't in his dictionary… _Of all the people I get stuck with… him?_

"How much money do you have on you," Josak asked.

"Let's see…" Sarah started. "Back in Big Simaron, I kept my pay in my saddle bag, like everyone else. When you guys brought me to the hydrofoil, I only had the clothes on my back. Now, how much money do you think I have on me?"

It was perhaps a bit unlike her to speak that way, but she was still irritated from the day before when Shinou wore her last nerve.

If Josak was affected by her statement, he didn't show it. "Good point, well then, as I am in a similar predicament as you, we'll just have to wait until it gets a bit darker."

Sarah followed Josak's example and settled down on the ground.

* * *

_Her back smashed hard against the surface of the raging water. Water rushed in from all sides as her entire body was swallowed into the depts. She was only faintly aware of the strong currents that threatened to wash her away. But instead of being swept away, she was falling… She continued to fall…_

_Her eyes were closed and she felt a calmness washing over her. Even though she didn't know why, she had the vague feeling that she had accomplished something great. She welcomed the sensation. But at the same time, she felt a great sadness as if she would never again see the sunrise on the horizon._

_All of a sudden, her descend was halted and she time ticked slowly by. She didn't care… Time had no meaning now. The feel of the current had now totally disappeared. She opened her eyes at long last and saw that she was suspended in black nothingness. "Is this death?" she asked herself._

_She suddenly felt very small and very alone. Her violet dress felt soft to the touch but brought little comfort to her. She brought her hands up to her face. They were the hands of a child. She felt alarm rising within her, yet a part of her told her that there wasn't a need to._

_Then, a bright light shone from above and she was forced to shield her eyes. Squinting against the light, she saw a dark figure appeared from within the light. His voice was warm and soothing as he said something to Sarah._

"_Who are you?" Sarah asked without thinking, her voice sounded strange in her own ears._

_The figure seemed to hesitate. "Would you?" the figure pressed his question._

_There was a long pause. But Sarah was quite aware that she wasn't considering the question. Someone else was thinking, but it was her that at last said, "I would."_

_She sat up and reached out. Then, everything was bright._

* * *

Sarah's eyes flew. Her gaze fell outside where the night sky was clear and the star twinkled._ How long was I asleep?_

As Sarah stood up, she noticed Josak was no where around. She considered the possibility of him leaving her behind but discarded it as Josak appeared out of the gloom holding a few objects.

"Here," he held out a deep purple cloak. "Put this on."

Sarah swung it around her shoulders and fastened it. She noticed that it was quite light though think enough to provide warmth and shelter, ideal for traveling. It wasn't as fine a weave as the one Sarah left behind in Big Simaron, but, all things considered, it wasn't a bad piece of workmanship.

Josak pointed to the folded cloth on the floor. "I don't think we should risk leaving it here." He open and held out a leather sling bag. Inside, Sarah saw some dried fruits and nut, sweet meats and other traveling provisions.

"I'll carry this," Josak said as she slung the bag over his shoulder.

Sarah raised an eyebrow. "Wait a minute, if you and I both didn't have any money to begin with, how did you—?"

Josak held up a hand. "Now, now, one shouldn't worry about such trivial things," he said with a wink. "Come on, I think it would be faster if we were to stole away on a ship that's heading out at morning tide." He turned and peeked out of the opening of the cave. He waved her to follow.

"I couldn't find anyone to… um, contribute a sword, so you have to keep that hilt and scabbard of yours hidden," Josak whispered as they moved through the undergrowth. Sarah knew what he meant by that remark. The hilt of the sword was a unique design only used by Simaron commanders and the scabbard had designs engraved in to state what rank the possessor held.

They cleared the small wooded area within a few short minutes. Silently, they set to the empty cobblestone streets. Pausing every now and then behind houses and in small alleys to avoid detection.

Once or twice they had to hide themselves from a few patrols of Calorian soldiers who were on their night watch but otherwise, the run to the harbor was relatively uneventful. After a length of time, they caught sight of their destination.

In the predawn gloom, Sarah could make out shapes of ships of all sizes. Already, a few people were loading and unloading cargo for the morning's shipment. Obviously, Josak had not anticipated that these many people would already start working before dawn. They ducked in one of the nearby alleys again.

"Which ship are we bound for?" asked Sarah in a low whisper.

"Unfortunately," Josak said with a hint of bitterness. "That one." He pointed to a ship with an opened cargo hold and at least a dozen people forming a line to load the cargo. "That ship leaves on morning tide for Suberera, a desert land just east of Shin Makoku. It's a smuggling ship, but a ship none the less. After that, we could journey by horse. It would be a week's worth of riding, half a week if you're willing to risk laming your horse to the border. In total, we could see demon land within a little over a month's time."

Josak's face turned calculative, and then he shook his head. "No, we have to get on this ship, the next ship bound for Suberera isn't due here until two weeks later. It's too close to the war." He turned to Sarah. "I forgot to ask you. Are you a full-blooded demon? Hoseki could really hurt if you are."

"Last time I checked, I wasn't affected by Hoseki at all," came the reply. "I'm not even sure if I'm demon at all," she muttered under her breath.

"That's good," he said. "Now on my signal, we try to get to the ship. If we wait any longer, chances are we're not going to get aboard unnoticed." He started to move out then stopped. "By the way, you have demon blood in you. They are no double back humans."

_Maybe in this world… but what about mine…_

Then, she had an idea. She restrained Josak with a hand on his shoulder before he cleared the alley. She looked around the alley and found an old rusted can. Josak raised an eyebrow as Sarah told him to boost her up to the roof. Josak shrugged and cupped his hands. Sarah stepped into it and nimbly scrambled up. Sarah carefully navigated her way on the rooftop. When she reached an appropriate distance, she propelled the rusted can in the opposite direction of the smuggling crew.

All the men looked up from whatever they were doing. One of them, probably the leader, signaled and the dozen men pulled out various alien looking weapons and slowly moved in the direction away from the ship, leaving the way to the cargo hold unguarded. Sarah jumped down to joined Josak, who had already started to make a run for the opening.

By the time the smugglers came back empty handed, Josak and Sarah were already in the deepest reaches of the hold.

* * *

Sarah and Josak stowed away in the ship for two weeks, eating the rations Josak had 'found' and ducking out of sight when one or another sailor came below deck to check on the cargo. They kept quiet most of the time on the voyage instead of risking detection. 

Keeping still and quiet for long periods of time was never one of Sarah's talents. A fact she had painfully discovered. Without any form of entertainment, the minutes were slow to past. It was only on the third or forth day out at sea that she found that tensing and relaxing her muscles helped a little.

Most of the time they were keeping still, Sarah pondered her most recent dream. And just like every other dream Shinou gave her, it made little sense. She was almost certain that the dream was somehow connected to Shinou in one twisted way or another. What was Shinou trying to tell her?

"Why did you do that?" Josak asked all of a sudden.

"Hm?"

"That day on the gibbet, why did you do what you did?"

"Oh, that… it was more of a spontaneous kind of thing." Without knowing exactly why, Sarah blushed.

Josak chuckled. "No doubt."

"Why are you going through all this trouble to get me back to Shin Makoku with you?" Sarah asked him in turn.

Josak looked hurt. "Did you want me to leave you back in Caloria?" he quipped.

"No," Sarah said quickly. "Since we'd settled the fact that we didn't like each other back on Gwendal's ship…" She left the sentence unfinished.

"Liking someone and doing the right thing when the time comes is two different things," Josak answered, and then a grin crept on his face. "Besides, His Excellency would kill me if I lost you, so I'm merely saving my skin."

Sarah feigned a pout and giggled.

Three weeks later, they heard a shout from above which startled them momentarily. "Land ho!" the lookout bellowed.

* * *

**A/n:**

_Okay, I admit, this isn't one of my better chapters. Plus, I'm kinda stuck for the moment. Not to mention mid-terms are coming up... _

**To i love athrun**_Thanks so much for the review! I hoped you like this one too!_

**To Torana: **_Squee! That's a relief... Glad you liked the last chapter._

**To All my readers:** _I know there's at least thrity of you out there right? Lol, I hope people don't click the link over and over again and I find out that only ten people read O.O But it doens't really matter. I hope this chapter is up to expectations. Thanks for reading!_

_Anyway, personnaly, I think that Josak and Sarah are starting to get along Oo! We mustn't have that now, can we? Soooo... (evil smile) Let's see what happens in the next chapter. So until then...  
_

_Forever,_

_Val. _


	7. I Hate Sand

**Author's Note: **So Chappy 6 is up now, I hope you'll all enjoy it!

**Disclaimer: **Sadly, I don't own Kyou Kara Maou or its characters. But the OC and Plot are mine… xD _sliver lining…_

**Chapter 6**

"Remember," Josak whispered as they walked casually into town. "Keep your face hidden no matter what."

Sarah nodded. Even though it was only about the hundredth time Josak had reminded her since landing in Suberera ten minutes ago, Sarah didn't mind it much. She knew that this area was still quite human populated and to show her face was equivalent to signing her death warrant. Josak was just as worried and nervous as she was.

"It'd be better if I could find some dye though," Sarah muttered bitterly. "The desert is hot enough as it is."

"Well," Josak said as they rounded the corner. "Not many people have any reason to change their hair color, so dye isn't exactly the most common thing around these parts."

"At least I can see one good thing in this," Sarah said. "It won't be too long until we reach Shin Makoku." She smiled.

Josak was stunned for a moment at her smile then he quickly recovered, but not without Sarah's noticing. "What?"

"It's nothing," he said. "I just suddenly noticed that you reminded me of a person I knew a long time ago."

Though Sarah's expression didn't change, her mind was racing again. _Memories? Was Shinou really serious when he said he gave me back memories? _She needed to know.

"Who?" she asked Josak while she surveyed around, nobody seemed to give them a second glance. That was good.

"A girl," he said impassively.

"A girl you had a crush on?" Sarah asked playfully, unable to resist.

Josak smiled as if recalling things from the past. He shook his head. "No," he said. "But I think my friend, Conrad, fancied her and she him." His expression darkened. "It was a sad day last we heard of her."

Sarah weighed her words carefully before asking, "What happened to her?"

Josak shifted uncomfortably. "She passed on."

Just as Sarah expected he would answer. "Sorry," she said but Josak merely brushed away the apology. "Her death struck Conrad harder than all of us put together," he said. "I'm not even sure if he ever recovered."

Just then, they saw the stall that they were looking for. Whilst Josak haggled with the horse trader with was scant funds they could get from selling the ship's more likely to be unmissed items, Sarah's mind was elsewhere.

If all the information she collected so far was true, then would that mean that Ysabel was none other than her past life? Would that mean that her situation was akin to what would happen to Julia? Her eyes widened when it struck her. _Julia! What __**would **__happen…?_

Julia hadn't died yet. Sarah knew every single event that would happen in this world from now until Shoshu's destruction. She could stop all the catastrophes and deaths. Most of all, she held the knowledge to stopping Julia's death… Was this the reason Shinou brought her to this world at this time… to stop Julia's death?

Josak's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Come on," he said as he held the reins of two horses. "We still have more than half a day's good light left."

Sarah smiled and approached the horse. She climbed up with ease and noticed that the horses weren't half bad. In fact, worth at least five times more than what they had. But as she was about to voice her suspicion, Josak just held up his hand and winked. "Ladies shouldn't worry about such trivial things." He grinned.

Suddenly, Sarah's face immediately went pale and visibly faltered in her saddle. If not for the fact that Josak was right beside her, she would have fallen off the horse for sure.

"What's wrong?" Josak asked, concerned etched in his features.

Sarah shook her head clear and tried to regain her balance on top of the horse. Her faltering had not escaped from some of the nearby people and attention was the last thing they needed now.

Sarah looked around for possible clues of her disorder. And nearby, she saw a man opening a velvet pouch. Her eyes widened when the man pulled out its contents. He admired the beautiful jewel in his palm and Sarah felt dizzier. "It can't be…" she whispered.

"What?" Josak asked as the people finally satisfied their curiosity and returned to their own business.

"Nothing," Sarah said as she gripped the reins of the horse. "Let's get out of here." As they cantered out the city, Sarah was very disturbed. Why was she affected by hoseki now?

* * *

It was the forth or fifth day traveling since Sarah and Josak departed from Suberera for Shin Makoku. They were heading at a steady canter and according to Josak, they should see Shin Makoku's border by tomorrow. 

Sarah was still very disturbed by the discovering that hoseki affected her when it didn't when she was in Foster's office. Then would that mean that she was of demon blood after all? Who were her parents anyway? Were they demon too? Sarah sighed. _Now I know how Yurri felt… or… would feel… or… whatever… More memories would be appreciated Shinou!_

The task would be simple then. _Get to the temple; get answers from Shinou, then get back to my world… right? _This would be a short journey, Sarah decided, one that she would always treasure but also one that she thought that she could live without. Life threatening situations were just too much for her.

They stayed silent for most of the trip, not because they still disliked each other, but because of fatigue. Water was scarce and what they had left would have to suffice for there would not be another oasis along their path to Shin Makoku or so Josak said.

Sarah for one was impressed by the half-blooded demons knowledge and skill in survival and terrain. She was sure that she wouldn't have been able to make it this far on her own. She more than once had thought of the possibility that this might have also been part of Shinou's 'Grand Design'.

Also, her theory of Ysabel being her past life was also unclear. She needed more facts to confirm her conclusion. Either that or she would have to ask it straight from Shinou himself. She cast a sideward glance at Josak. She had only one dream of him but that didn't mean that Ysabel only saw him once in her short life span. Mustering up some courage, she decided to see if Josak could help with her problem. She opened her mouth and they both fell forward into the sand.

Their horses shied as all four figures fell into a sand pit. Sarah's eyes widened as she saw a panda baring its sharpened teeth. They had fallen into a Sand Bear's trap!

Trying to climb up would be futile she knew. Josak seemed more concerned about her than himself. He shouted something to Sarah but it was muffled by roar of the bear. Then, Josak was gone.

Sarah searched her mind. _Come on, watching that anime must be good for something. Let's see… Conrad said that he survived it three times, which would at least mean there's a way out of this. What did he say on how to survive? What did he say…? What did he say? _She closed her eyes, trying to block out the terrifying image in front of her. Then it finally came to her.

_All Wolfram has to do to survive is to hold his breath until he finds his way out of the sand. _Then, Sarah's world went black.

* * *

Sarah's head burst out from the sand. She was breathing hard and fast. When she finally caught enough of her breath, she slowly and painfully pulled the rest of her body out of the hot and course sand. 

What had happened beneath the surface of the sand was a just a big blur to Sarah. The last thing she could remember clearly was that she disappeared under the sea of sand.

She lay on her back, baking in the sun and too tired to move. She looked left and right… nothing… nothing but the endless stretch of sand. No Josak, no Sand Bear and no civilization.

She stood up and wobbled a bit before stabling herself. "I hate sand," she muttered darkly. "I never ever want to set foot on a beach ever again in my life." _I already have no provisions on me, if I stay here, I'm dead…_

"Right, time to get going," she said. She looked left. She looked Right. Left again and right again. She cursed as she tried to determine which way to go.

* * *

Josak muttered darkly and dusted himself as he climbed up the stairs and rounded the bend towards Gwendal's office. "I lost her," he said. "I can't believe I lost her. We were so close to the border." 

Josak found himself not five miles away from the Demon Kingdom's border. Unfortunately, his companion was no where in sight. There was no hope in finding a person whom you were separated from by a sand trap. She could be _anywhere _from here to Suberera. "His Excellency is going to skin me."

Josak knocked on the door and entered when he was bidden. Gwendal remained impassive as his seemingly dead spy walked in. "You're alive." It wasn't a question.

Josak smiled. "I'm touched that you missed me, Your Excellency."

Gwendal eyed Josak. "Where's the Simaron Captain?"

Josak shifted involuntarily. "I lost her in the desert," he said. "A Sand Bear."

Gwendal nodded understandingly. "Did you find out anything about her or her reason for wanting to come here?"

"I did find out one thing," Josak said as he sat down in one of the chairs opposite Gwendal. "She's no human."

Gwendal raised an eyebrow. "Care to be more specific?"

"She's a pure blooded demon, Your Excellency," Josak said. "She was affected by hoseki back when we were in Suberera." He paused. "Which would be weird considering that she told me that hoseki didn't have an affect on her. I wonder why she would lie about that."

"Who knows," Gwendal said as he continued writing. "What else?"

Josak bit his lower lip. "She's a double black."

Gwendal looked up again. "At least that would explain the tinge of red I saw in the water the day of the storm." He stood up in his seat. "Get some rest. We'll conduct a search for her in five hours."

Josak nodded and exited the room. His Excellency tolerated most mistakes, but he wasn't about to let any Mazoku, double black or not, wander the desert over night.

* * *

a/n: 

_Okay, the end of another chapter of my Kyou Kara Maou Rewrite. How did you guys (and girls) like it? Give it to me straight. You can flame me if you like, really, you can. But do it only if you really have to, okay? Heh…_

_**To **__**i love athrun: **__Yay! Thanks so so so much for your review! Really appreciate it, I do._

_**To **__**Torana: **__What a relief. I hope I can continue to write up to your expectations and eventually, beyond it. Your review was just inspiring and encouraging. Oh, and thanks for the good luck on my midterms._

_**To **__**Everyone else: **__ Heh, what a nice category, eh? I hope I didn't disappoint any of you either. Reviews would be appreciated but for now, your loving support is enough to satisfy me! But don't get me wrong, reviews are good too lol…_

_Okay, so until the next chapter. Our heroine will arrive in Shin Makoku, meet a few old (and new) friends, speak to Shinou and find out the truth O.O_

_So stay tuned!_

_Forever,_

_**Val.**_


	8. A 'Warm' Welcome

**Author's Note: **Okay, so I'd like to annouce that thanks to all you who has continued to stay tune for updates on KKM Rewrite, this story has finally reached over 1000 hits! Well, 1001 to be exact. So I thought I'd celebrate with a new Chapter. Thanks for your support, All!

**Disclaimer: **Sadly, I don't own Kyou Kara Maou or its characters. But the OC and Plot are mine… xD _sliver lining…_

_Chapter 7_

Sarah had practically lost track of how many hours had passed by since her escape of the sand trap. Moreover, she wasn't even sure which was she was going. She could only fervently hope that it was towards greenery.

Sarah wiped the sweat from her brow. The heat was getting to her. Her vision faltered every now and then and her feet her sore beyond their limits. She took a step forwards and her feet gave in.

"A little help would be appreciated, Shinou," she muttered under her breath. Sarah had seen no signs of anything that resembled life and she was beginning to understand why.

With no little effort, she pushed herself up onto her still protesting feet. She lazily shuffled to the top of a sand dune. "I'd even act civilized to Shinou later if I could just see the edge of the city now," she mused randomly.

Sarah reached the top of the dune and cursed in wide eyed amazement. Signs of grass could be seen, slowly getting thicker and thicker until it turned into a small valley. At the end of the valley, she saw a tree beside the falloff. It looked so familiar because Sarah now knew where this place was. She stumbled to the edge and there it lay: the capital of the Demon Tribe.

"Now I know Shinou's responsible for every misfortune that I came across," Sarah said as her eyes narrowed dangerously.

She looked off into the distance to where a low building stood. Despite the distance, Sarah quickly identified that it was none other than her destination. "Shinou's Temple," Sarah said.

As she started for it, she suddenly stopped. For a moment, doubt etched in her heart, as if telling her that the temple wasn't the place she was supposed to go. But didn't Shinou himself tell her to go to the temple?

Her eyes wandered to a spot in the opposite direction. _The tree? _But it wasn't just any tree. It was the tree where Shinou had met the Great Sage. She looked back and forth between the two destinations and finally decided to approach the tree.

She found the climb up the hill didn't take much effort at all. She walked around it once and found nothing out of the ordinary. Maybe she was just tired from the aimless walking in the desert and she was just imagining things. Either way, she was tired. She sat down on one of the large roots of the tree.

"You certainly took your time," a voice said from behind causing her to jump to her feet. "At least you trusted your sixth sense."

"Don't do that," Sarah said as she turned to Shinou. Just as she was about to say something, Shinou held up his hand, stopping her. "Didn't you say that you'd act civilized when you talk to me now?"

Sarah bit her lip. "Fine."

Shinou motioned for her to take a seat again. "I think you have a few questions," he started. "But I can't answer them all."

"Why not?"

"You'll have to find some of them out on your own," he said. "But why don't you ask a few and I'll see if I can answer them."

"Okay," Sarah said as she thought. "Why here? I though you said to go to the temple."

"I changed my mind for the most part," Shinou said as he leaned against the trunk of the tree. "Besides, Ulrike _might_ find it surprising and insulting that you can hear and see me and for the fact that you're a double black. You'd send the entire continent into a total uproar."

Sarah shrugged. "A little exaggerated but makes sense, I suppose." She thought again. "Why did you bring me here?" she asked.

"Didn't I already tell you that back on earth?" Shinou asked. "You're here to help me manipulate events. You've seen and experienced what people have to go through every time I try something."

"So it _was _you," Sarah said in an 'Ah-ha!' manner. "Why did you throw all those obstacles on my way here?"

"For one, I didn't count on Josak being in Simaron at that time," Shinou said. "You needed to at least rely somewhat on yourself to come here. If you couldn't withstand all the obstacles, then who knows what'll happen when you try to help me with things? But to my surprise, you overcame every with great ease."

Sarah didn't know whether to feel insulted or flattered. "Well," she said. "You could have used more subtle ways. Why me? Of all the crazed fans of Kyou Kara Maou that you could have picked to help you, why choose me?"

"I thought you might have figured it out by now," Shinou said with some disappointment. "It's because you aren't just any fan of that anime of your world."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sarah was confused.

"That," he said. "You'll have to find out for yourself. The fact that you can speak and understand the language here is the only hint I can give you."

Sarah blinked as the fact sank in. She just remembered that it was true. Fighting against the urge to question about that fact, she asked, "Who is Ysabel?"

Shinou looked at her. "She's you, of course. Can't you remember?"

"No," Sarah said dryly.

"Well, don't worry then," he said, pushing the question aside. "I'm sure you'll remember eventually.

He looked at the setting sun. "That's enough questions for today. You have to get to the castle today, fight if you have to. You can consider this an order. No one will believe you so you have to show them something that they have no reason to doubt. Something that's special."

"If you ever need to talk to me again, just come here," he said as he started to walk back towards his temple. "Keep your features hidden until you get inside the castle grounds and that you're sure that they'll believe that you are who you claim to be. The population isn't really ready to see another double black in their midst, let alone a dead aristocrat." With that he slowly faded again.

* * *

Sarah approached the castle with her hood up to hide her hair and eyes. The market place, though crowded, didn't give her so much as a second glance as she walked past them.

Throughout the journey to the gargantuan building, Sarah racked her mind to find that 'special something' Shinou talked about. What could she present that would be 'special' enough so that they wouldn't doubt her.

She walked up the twisting road up to the castle. She was quite shocked that even though she climbed a fair distance, she wasn't the least bit tired. She came to stand in front of the main gates, only to be halted by the guards in grey armor.

"You can't come in here," the guard stated. "The lords are getting ready for a mission, come back some other time."

Past the two guards, Sarah saw that the grounds were indeed bustling with activity. Men of higher rank were shouting orders while soldiers were running left and right. It truly was chaotic.

"But I _really _do need to get in," Sarah said, careful so as not to lift her hood. _Although I haven't a clue what to do when I get in but…_

"You can't," said the second guard. "Now move along before I lose my temper."

"But…"

"NOW!" the guard said, his spear was leveled.

Sarah stood frozen at the spot. She sighed as she remembered the dream in the cave in Caloria and finally realized what Shinou meant by 'You can consider this an order'. "Shinou's words be said, Shinou's will be done," she muttered.

"What was that?" asked one of the guards. "W-what are you doing?" he stammered as Sarah drew her Simaron sword.

"If you won't let me in, I'll fight my way through," Sarah said simply as she assumed a battle position. She was tempted to lift her hood. It would be easier to fight that way. But then, she recalled Shinou's words and remained stern.

"I have a better idea," a voice said from inside the compound of the castle. He had brown hair and eyes and rode on a brown stallion. He slid from his saddle and walked towards them. Sarah saw that the two men in similar blue outfits as the person remained where they were. He came up to them and unsheathed his sword. "Why don't you fight me? If you win, I'll personally escort you to throne room." His eyes narrowed as the blade registered in his mind. "Simaron Captain," he added.

Sarah was momentarily stunned. Soldiers had stopped what they were doing to stare at the newcomer and the Lord Weller's conversation. Behind, Sarah saw that a golden hair youth had also appeared. _Wolfram… and what's this… G_ünter?

Some of the soldiers were chuckling slightly. Obviously, they had confidence that Lord Conrad Weller would win without a sweat. Somehow, Sarah thought they were right.

But… orders were orders. Sarah nodded to accept his challenge. They moved inside the compound and the spectators formed a ring around the two swordsmen. Sarah's mind raced again, if she couldn't win against the best swordsman in all the lands, what would she do then? Just as the battle was about to begin, Lady Celi also came out to see what had caused such a commotion.

"I must warn you," Conrad said. "I will not go easy on you just because you're a woman."

Sarah pulled her hood lower. "I wouldn't have it any other way." Then she rushed forwards and their swords met.

Back and forth they exchanged blows and parries. Once or twice, she had come close to being cut by him but only in exchange for the same amount returned to him. The audience gasped at certain times. They didn't expect her to be this good and truth to tell, she didn't either.

Their swords clashed together again, each straining to hold his or her grip so as not to fall to the opponent's force. Sarah smiled underneath her hood. She could almost sense Dan Hiri's presence nearby, coaching them.

Then it struck her! How could she have been so stupid? Of course, the perfect 'special' thing, only she, Conrad and Dan Hiri knew of it.

She stepped forward. Conrad stepped forward in response. Again, she stepped forwards and Conrad did so too. Then, she did the unexpected: she leaned forwards and lightly brushed her lips against his cheek and before anyone could register anything in their minds, Sarah took a quick step forward and twisted the sword away from him, successfully disarming him. She leveled her sword tip at his throat.

"Comarade's Angel," she said.

Immediately, at least two dozen sharpened blades were forcing her away from their commander. "Hm… this isn't what I had in mind when he said 'escort'."

* * *

Conrad stood stunned speechless. His family members and a few soldiers all rushed to his side. "Are you okay, Conrad?" "Are you hurt, my lord?" "Commander, are you alright?"

"Comrade's Angel," he whispered. It couldn't be. No one knew of that move and the last time he saw it performed was over one and a half centauries ago. It couldn't be. The one who had invented the skill was dead. She passed away long ago. "How do you know of Comarade's Angel?"

Josak and Gwendal came up before she could speak. "There you are," Josak said cheerfully to the mysterious woman opposite him. He looked around. "I see you've met everyone else."

"You could say that," the woman said.

"You know each other?" Conrad asked his loyal friend, Josak.

"She's the person we were supposed to look for in the desert, Commander," Josak explained. Looking at his commander's expression and as if just noticing the fact that Sarah was surrounded by two dozen points, he asked, "Did I miss something?"

"Lord Weller was defeated in battle," Günter said, still stunned from the display.

Gwendal raised an eyebrow. "That wouldn't cause you to be this shocked," he said. "What happened?"

Conrad composed himself. His eyes were still wide with shock as he took a step forward. "Conrad?" Celi asked from behind.

Conrad didn't hear her question. The ring of soldiers encircling the woman moved aside as he approached her. Not trusting himself to lift her hood, he took her hand.

Curious enough, she didn't resist. Conrad took a deep breath and removed the fingerless-glove. He stared wide-eyed at the birthmark on her palm. He looked at the woman, her head lowered to hide her face, begging for some explanation.

Without looking up, she reached into her olive top and pulled out her pendent. "I thank you for my twelfth birthday present," she said.

The crowd gasped. "The seal of the eighth aristocrat!" one shouted. Conrad looked back at his childhood friend who was now as stunned as he was. Josak shrugged, indicating he didn't know anything about it either.

Conrad reached for her hood and gripped the rim, but then hesitated. She let go of her pendent and reached up to grip his wrist. Together, they pushed back the hood.

Black hair fell past her shoulders and the crowd gasped again. "It's been awhile," she said as midnight eyes stared back at him. "Conrad."

Without thinking, Conrad leaned forward and embraced her.

* * *

For a moment or two, time stopped as Conrad held Sarah. But in this touching moment, Sarah's mind was elsewhere for she knew the truth. She knew why she had those 'memories' and what they meant.

She knew why Shinou wouldn't tell her the entire truth. It was because Shinou knew that Sarah wouldn't have believed him. Shinou was right. She was Ysabel or rather Ysabel wasn't her past life like she thought. Ysabel… Ysabel was her childhood.

* * *

a/n:

In the immortal words of Pinoko from the anime 'Black Jack': (slams fists into cheeks) Oh my goodness!

Lol, that's what my sister said when she read the ending so I imagine that it would be pretty much the same for all of you.

_**To **__**i love athrun: **__Yay! Thanks so so so much for reviewing! I hope that you liked this chapter.  
_

Again, I would apologize if all this is a bit (or a lot O.O) corny, but this is my first attempt to write anything that's remotely close to romance. Forgive me… T.T

Sigh, this chapter was a long one, I actually wanted to go on but I thought of the people who would say 'Gosh, why is it so long? I don't want to read anymore…' So heh…

Until the next chapter.

Forever,

**Val.**


	9. Questions Cleared

**Author's Note: **So Chappy 8 is up now. I've been debating with myself what to call the 'two-name' OC. So if they're no protests, I think I'll just call her Ysabel from now on.

**Disclaimer: **Sadly, I don't own Kyou Kara Maou or its characters. But the OC and Plot are mine… xD _sliver lining…_

* * *

_Chapter 8_

Ysabel was only faintly aware that the tearful Lady Celi was silently ushering away all the spectators. Brief protests from Wolfram were silenced quickly by Gwendal's 'no-nonsense' gaze and soon, the courtyard was empty save for the two.

_You cannot tell him the truth… _a voice rang in her head _…not yet, at least_

Ysabel was literally in no position to argue with Shinou. _If you say so, s_he thought back. _Wait, how come you can talk to me through the mind?_

_My powers may be extraordinary and mind speech may not be a stranger to me, but it drains too much of my powers, I'd rather you come to the tree if you need to talk to me._

Ysabel rolled her eyes heavenwards. _Modest aren't you?_

_Very._

"Where have you been all these years?" Conrad asked finally.

Ysabel closed her eyes as if trying to remember. She wasn't going to tell him the truth, but she didn't exactly want to lie to him either. "I can't really remember…"

Conrad raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"How long have I been 'gone'?"

"Nearly one and a half centauries," he said.

"The day I fell into the river… I think… I was saved by Shinou… then the next thing I knew I was washed up on the beach in Big Simaron." _Speaking of which, do you ever intend on giving me back my memories?_

_I should think so. Yes, I think I will. Is now a bad time?_

_Not really, no, why?_

Ysabel suddenly felt lightheaded. _Because… you need to be asleep for me to give you back memories. _Then, she fell forward.

* * *

The door opened and two female figures walked. The older woman had long, azure hair and wore a soft, white robe as her uniform. Her assistant had long, green hair and wore a similar outfit. 

"You said she just suddenly fell unconscious?" Suzanna Julia von Wincott asked.

Conrad, who stood outside the room, nodded and asked, "How is she?"

"She's fine," Julia answered. "Perfectly normal if I may add. She's just in a very deep sleep. Though, I'm perplexed as to why she just suddenly fell asleep. Gisela has offered to watch over her until she wakes up."

Gisela von Christ inclined her head.

"It really is her, isn't it?" Conrad said with a smile that neither medic had seen in a long time.

Julia returned the smile. "Yes, it is," she said. "She is the Ysabel we knew such a long time ago."

"I wonder what happened," Conrad mused aloud.

"Conrad," Julia said.

"Hm?"

"I don't think she was lying when she said she couldn't remember anything," she said. "I sensed a great emptiness within her when I examined her."

Conrad's expression was incomprehensive and concerned. "If that's true, can we do anything that'll help her regain her memories?"

"I don't know," she shook her head with dismay. "Maybe she'll slowly regain them after time, but who can say for sure? You could try bringing her to places you two shared together while you were young."

Conrad was temporarily stunned from her suggestion but smiled when recalling some of the memories that they shared. "Her arrival isn't very timely," Conrad sighed remembering the war.

"Actually," Julia corrected. "It's timelier than you think."

"What do you mean?"

"Moods have been so somber of late because of this war. We needed something that would lighten the tension." She motioned for him to follow her back into the room. Once inside, Gisela closed the door behind them.

Motioning towards the sleeping form of the eighth aristocrat, she asked, "What do you remember of her character?"

Conrad thought. "Someone who's strong-willed, determined and follows her heart."

Julia nodded. "People change over time. She may not act like the person we once knew."

Conrad frowned. "So you're telling me not to expect too much in case she's changed?"

Julia nodded again. "Yes," she said. "That and that if she's still the same person, you cannot allow her to participate in this war. Knowing her, she will want to assume her family's responsibilities as soon as possible. She's still too empty."

She sighed and moved to the balcony. As she looked up at the moon, Conrad came up behind her. "Today…" he started.

"There is a beautiful full moon," Julia finished his sentence. "I can feel it even if I can't see it. The moonlight feels so nice."

Conrad staggered as Julia changed the subject of his sentence, but that feeling subsided as fast as it had befallen upon him. "Yes, it's a wonderful moon."

"I wish this tranquil night could continue forever."

"Me too, but a war is about to break out. This time, even my mother can't do anything to stop it. This may be the last night we will be able to see each other."

"Stop saying depressing things, Conrad," Julia chided lightly. "Even if it may be impossible now, I'm sure everyone will be able to live peacefully eventually."

"The Mazoku and humans?"

"Yes," Julia replied. "An age where everyone can be happy living side-by-side."

Conrad smiled at the thought. "Maybe, one day."

* * *

Ysabel woke up in the middle of the night. How long had she been out? She looked around the alien surrounding. She had been sleeping in a four-poster bed in a large room. Beside her was the sleeping form of a young woman whom she quickly identified as Gisela. 

_I need you to come to the tree. _Shinou's voice rang in her head. _We have some things to discuss._ Then the presence was gone before she could answer.

Sighing, she carefully got out of bed so as not to wake Gisela and moved towards the door but paused before her hand could touch the handle.

Light erupted from the little slit below the door. _People are still awake_. Shadows moved back and forth. _And they're still moving about… _

Ysabel looked around. Drawn curtains danced soundlessly in the pale moonlight. She walked towards the balcony.

Looking over the edge, nausea gripped her stomach as she was overwhelmed by the height. She quickly retreated back. Steeling herself, she looked over the edge again to see if there was a way down. She saw a possible route and muttered, "The things I'd do for him…"

Ysabel stepped up onto the stone railing of the balcony. Sparing one last glance back at the sleeping Gisela, she jumped down. Reaching the floor, she made her way towards the spoken location.

* * *

"Shinou…" Ysabel whispered. She peered around in the gloom. She could barely make out the roots and braches to avoid tripping over. 

"Where are you?" she called out again.

"About time," said a grinning Shinou as he materialized from within the tree, yet again causing her to jump.

"Stop doing that!" Ysabel said instinctively even though she knew that Shinou would never take her complains to heart. Forcing herself to calmness, she asked, "What was it you wanted to discuss with me?"

Shinou motioned for her to sit and she did. He eyed her. "Have you accepted the fact that you are who you are?"

Ysabel was silent for awhile as facts raced in her mind, then she nodded. "I have, as least I think so."

"Good, because there's no changing the fact that you are the one and the same girl I saved back then, no matter how hard it is to digest it."

"Why did you save me in the first place?"

Shinou thought for awhile as he considered his words. "You were willing to give your life for another. That act of selflessness deserves something." He ginned. "Plus, I also have a few plans in mind for you."

Ysabel's eyes narrowed suspiciously. Noticing this, he quickly added, "Nothing that wouldn't be in your best interest, of course."

"Of course…" Ysabel said doubtfully. She wasn't the least bit less suspicious but she was content in letting the subject drop. "What about the memories? I don't think I got any back."

"They're there," he assured her. "You just have to remember them."

Completely baffled by his answer, she decided she'd try this 'remembering them' thing herself first before asking what it meant. "Anything else you wanted to discuss?"

"There is the matter of Hoseki that's still on you mind," he said.

Ysabel lit up in an 'oh-yea-I-forgot-about-that' manner.

"You, like all of the other aristocrats, have a considerable amount of maryoku in each and every one of you. Because I sent you to earth for a fair amount of time, you have grown distant from your powers and that's why you weren't affected by hoseki the first time you saw it in Simaron."

Ysabel raised an eyebrow. "And so by coming back to this world, I reawakened the connection?"

"Something like that. Didn't you ever wonder why you were so adaptable to sword fighting?" he asked.

"Not really…"

"You were always a swordsman who showed much potential in training. So by going into training again, even if it was Simaron training, you awakened that instinct within yourself."

"But I don't think I've used any maryoku while I was in this world."

"But on the contrary," Shinou corrected, "You never wondered how Lord von Voltair and his crew survived the waterspout? Or how you and Josak Gurrier managed to '_drift_' to a beach in Caloria which was miles off course?"

Ysabel sat stunned. "I did that?"

"After you and Josak fell into the water, a second waterspout immediately appeared to counter the first."

"So," Ysabel said unsurely. "I can control water?"

"No," Shinou smiled.

"Then what did I do?"

"You manipulated the air in the water to form that spout. You would've made a tornado but the water decided to tag along for the ride. Same goes for how you and Josak ended up in Caloria." His smile broadened. "See, I had nothing… well, almost nothing to do with you ending up on a beach."

"Okay…" Ysabel said, letting that subject drop as well. "I'm guessing I still need work on controlling my maryoku."

Shinou nodded. "Which leads us to the main reason why I called you here, I need to get you a teacher before you start accidently tearing down my kingdom." He said the last bit as a jest of course. At least Ysabel hoped so.

He shook his head. "No," he said. "Ulrike is busy enough with the war. Very well then, I'll coach you," he said brightly.

"What—?" Ysabel said. "Here?"

"Of course here, where else?"

"What if someone comes up here and sees you teaching me magic?"

Just then, a bird flew towards them and flew right _through _Shinou but swerved away to avoid banging into Ysabel.

"See," Shinou said.

Puzzled and stunned from the display, Ysabel said, "No, I don't see."

"You're the only who can see me up here and a noble practicing magic outdoors isn't the rarest sight in the world."

Ysabel shrugged. She had always been pretty fond of magic and if she was going to have the best maryoku user in this world as her coach, she wasn't about to object. "If you insist, I'm not about to say no."

"Good, you should come up here whenever you can." Looking off to the east where the sun was kissing the horizon. "And one more thing before you go."

"What?"

"I am the closest version to 'god' in this world and I, for one, _can _read minds. You cannot, under any circumstances, try to alter Julia's fate and decision."

* * *

**a/n:**

Eep, what _is _that Shinou up to? If you ask me, he's being just a little suspicious about something. (hint, hint)

So, um… thanks for waiting for this update, I needed to rewatch the moon scene to remember the words but as you can see, our heroine's presence is starting to have some effect on the Mazoku, not much I'll grant, but it did change.

**To _Erisabeisuu_**: I'm so glad you liked the last chapter and I hope you find this one up to your expectations as well!

**To _i love athrun:_** Yay, thank you so much for reviewing and your support. At least I know you're one of my very loyal readers.

**To _Everyone:_** Well, thanks for reading. It really means a whole lot to me. Though I'd like to bring up a Author's Note from a few chapters back: This is your last chance to recomend a von 'smth' for our heroine! Personally, I'm stuck... um... help? Lols

(Leans over to reader) What's that? You want to know what that sneaky, dead and sarcastic king is up to? Then, stay tuned for future chapters of Kyou Kara Maou REWRITE!

Until my next update,

Forever,

**_Val._**


	10. Fond Memories

**Author's Note: **Hehe, I'm back! Miss me? Lol. Anyway, just for the record, I got a grand total of 3 reviews on the last chapter, most I ever got. (Okay, I'm quite new to fanfic, so sue me.) So I thought we'd celebrate a bit. With what? A new playful chapter! Enjoy.

**Disclaimer: **Sadly, I don't own Kyou Kara Maou or its characters. But the OC and Plot are mine… xD _sliver lining…_

* * *

**Chapter 9**

Shinou watched as the double black mazoku departed down the hill. He knew that even though he warned her, she wouldn't heed his words.

He sighed as he thought about what he planned to put her through. He shook his head. As if the youth hadn't been through enough already.

Shinou had given his course of action careful thought. He had gone through every single detail, no matter how small, to make sure it was flawless.

Even now, Shinou knew he debated with himself, trying to find another way to do it and still receive the same effect but he had yet to come up with one.

No, there was no other way. And even if he did think of one, it'd be too late to change his plot now. He could only pray that the young woman would make it through unhurt, both physically and mentally.

Thinking also of the heavy burdens he had placed on Suzanna Julia von Wincott's shoulders, he slowly faded away.

* * *

Ysabel walked back towards the castle in a steady pace. Even though she didn't have a hood enclosed around her head, she felt not much need for panic. The city was still asleep and word of her arrival had, no doubt, spread from within the walls out into the population.

If Shinou didn't want her to save Julia from her fate, then what was she doing here in this time? Was there some other major event that would happen? Pushing her concerns to the back of her head for now, she carried on towards the palace. All she wanted to do now was curl up in her bed.

As she neared the castle, she turned her head as she felt an urging feeling to go left. Well, her sixth sense hadn't gotten her into any trouble so far.

She surveyed the area as she strolled down the path headed to the back of the fortress. Nothing really out of the ordinary, she absently wondered why she felt such an impulse to come this way.

Slowly, she saw long stretches of shrubs, indicating that she was now on the castle grounds. She raised an eyebrow. "Where are the guards?" she mused aloud. Surely, they wouldn't leave an area with no way to keep unauthorized people from coming in and out unguarded. She'd have to talk to Conrad about this sometime but now, she just wanted to know why she came in this direction.

She rounded the corner and a beautiful structure entered her view. Six detailed pillars held up a dome like roof. Stairs could be seen from its northern and southern end. Curious, she sauntered forward.

She was awed as she climbed the short steps into the structure. It was so simple and yet so beautiful. The floor was practically big enough to be a dance floor!

She spread the arms wide and turned in circles. Almost immediately, she felt like a child again. On one turn, she lost her footing and fell… into a bench.

A tiny 'oof' escaped her lips as she made collision with the hard surface, both arms hanging over the back support of the bench. Dizzy, she let her head roll left onto her shoulder.

She was momentarily stunned when she thought she saw a blue coat hanging there. The laughter of a boy and a girl caused her to sit upright with a start. And sure enough, a young pair of youths truly stood on the floor.

"Conrad," the girl laughed. "Don't look down at your feet so much."

The boy was visibly uncomfortable. He had a somewhat determined expression on his face as he tried to concentrate on the placement of his feet. He was getting the hang of it, gradually that is…

"Sorry," he apologized.

Ysabel smiled and closed her eyes as she began to relive that moment. "One, two, three… One, two, three…" Ysabel muttered unconsciously, her eyes still closed. Slowly, she began to tilt her head from side to side according to the beat reflexively.

Soon, just swinging her head and tapping her feet wouldn't suffice her feeling. She got on her feet and started dancing with an imaginary partner. A strong feeling surged up within her being, but… but… something was still missing.

All of a sudden, her imaginary partner materialized as someone took her waist and entangled her right hand. No alarms were raised. She smiled with still closed eyes as the missing link was found.

* * *

Gisela awake with a start. She had fallen asleep while watching over her charged. She yawned as she tried to wipe away the sleepiness with her palms, then something occurred to her. Her eyes widened as she saw the bed was empty. Her patient was… gone!

Gisela quickly rose to her feet and looked around. The curtains had been thrown aside to let a steady beam of light filter through. Panic threatened to overwhelm her, surely, the Lady von Edel wouldn't… would she? She forced herself to stay calm. "I have to get Sir Weller," she said to herself.

She ran towards the door and swung it open. To her surprise, Sir Conrad Weller stood outside, poised to open the door. "Gisela?"

As her surprise subsided, she remembered her missing patient. "I'm so sorry, Sir Weller, Lady von Edel is gone!"

Conrad looked liked he'd been struck by a ton of bricks. Without a word, he turned around and headed down the corridor at a quick pace.

After he alerted the guards, he hurried for the stables. By the time he got there, the marshalling yard was in a pure frenzy. Once inside, he saddled his brown mount and headed out at a near gallop. Then he stopped. He heard something, something very, very faint. He debated with himself for awhile then finally turned his horse around and headed to the back gardens.

* * *

Somehow, Conrad thought he heard children laughing. Absurd as it might have been, he headed for the back garden, seeking its source.

Weaving his mount expertly through the undergrowth, he reached his destination in no time at all. Conrad perked his head up higher and surveyed the area. To _his _surprise, he found not children, but the one he was looking for.

The young double black was sitting on a bench under the roof of the makeshift dome. She cocked her head from side to side as if keeping up to beat with a song. He smiled and dismounted.

When he reached the foot of the steps, he could visibly see that she was tapping her feet and muttering to herself. Then she hoped up to her feet and started dancing with an absent opponent.

Conrad smiled. He knew she at least remembered that memory. He hesitated. He stood there debating with himself whether to join her or to silently slip back to his horse. Surely, she would come back to the castle in her own time.

As he began to retreat down the stairs, he paused. He cast one last glance back at her and stepped down the remaining steps, only to discover that his horse was gone!

Sighing, there was no way he could get back fast enough to ensure that she wouldn't notice. He raised en eyebrow, almost as if someone was telling him to get back up there. Almost laughing aloud, he ran back up the stairs and assumed his position in the waltz steps.

* * *

A woman stood nearby couching under the shelter of a pile of higher shrubs. She peeked through the leaves as she held the reins of a brown horse.

Conrad looked around in confusion for the horse the she had so conveniently removed from sight. She saw him smile and wondered if he suspected her. To her relief, he merely turned back to the building and did exactly as she wanted.

Once satisfied that both youths were enjoying themselves too much to even notice her, she stood up straight and released his horse.

Taking one last look at the pair, she brushed her hands together repeatedly and smiled triumphantly. "My work here is done," she said. She turned around, only to stare face to face with her eldest son.

Gwendal stood there with his trademark skeptic look on his face. His arms were crossed in disapproval. "Mother," he started. His voice was loud enough to be heard by his mother but he was also careful that his voice didn't reach the pair. This of course, didn't escape Lady Cecile's notice.

"What are you doing?" he inquired. Casting a sideways look to see his brother's stallion held in custody of his mother, he had a good idea of what she was doing.

"Oh," Celi said. "Nothing."

Gwendal shook his head. "The world is chaotic enough without you trying to play match-maker."

"Oh… he just needed a little push, that's all."

He sighed and _escorted_ his mother back to the palace.

* * *

After dancing for quite some time, they lingered there. They sat on one of the benches with a _respectable_ distance between them. For the first time, Ysabel wondered if the memories Shinou returned to her were tampered with. She decided to test it out.

"It was your tenth birthday, right?" she asked, knowing what he would answer.

Conrad nodded. "You taught me how to dance here that night."

"I remember," she said. Then she remembered one more thing that didn't occur to her until now. "Um… Conrad."

"Yes?"

"Do you remember what happened after we went back to the castle?"He nodded again, oblivious of the reason she asked. Then it hit him.

"Uh-oh," they both said in unisons.

* * *

**_a/n:_**

_Okay, basically, apart from the first part of the chapter, this one was a totally random and pointless chappy. I wrote this all just for fun and I was practically debating with myself whether or not to upload it but since I was happy from the response of the last chapter, I though: What the heck._

_**To ****i love athrun****: Thanks for your support! Here's a new chapter.**_

_**To ****Erisabeisuu****: Yay, thank you so much for your review, really kept me going.**_

_**To ****Torana****: Heh, what can I say? Whenever I see your review, it sends me into a pure bliss. Thank for your support.**_

_**To ****All my readers: ****Thanks for reading, means a lot to me. I hope I sill continue to keep up to your expectations. Reviews are welcomed as always and I hope to hear your opinions.**_

_Okay, so just in case anybody's wondering, Edel is Dutch for 'Noble', corny? Yup, but heh, no one wanted to suggest anything._

_And again, apologies if anything sounds cliché in this story so far. Remember: New writer attempting to write the hardest subject known to mankind!_

_So until my next update,_

_Forever,_

**_Val._**


	11. Wedding Dresses and Soldiers

_**Disclaimer**: I don't own Kyou Kara Maou or any of its characters but the OC and plot are mine… xD silver lining…_

_**Author's Note**: HELLOOOO Peoples! Valentinemenitis was currently hibernating for the last few months. Why? Well… a myriad of things happened in last few months. I got hooked up to a few animes, got accepted into the University of my choice BOOYAH! _

_Let's see, what else happened? Oh yes, I sprained my ankle and it's impossible to get anywhere. I got obsessed over Aragorn from the lord of the rings… again! And cupping that off with the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (I absolutely hate Dumbledore!)? How could a simple book workmish girl like me hold up to all those powers of seduction? _

_Okay, so good news? I got a new laptop!_

_Bad news? Now that I'm in Uni, my dad 'asked' me to help in his office. And between homework and real work, I haven't really the time to write. I know… bummer…_

_I swear I really didn't mean to lag until my story was ranking #248 (last I checked). And I know this chapter is quite pointless as well… but I swear! Next chapter will really contribute to the plot._

_**To everyone who cares about who writes this fic: **It is to my greatest regret that I must announce the disbanding of the Val team. As my (older) sister has 'bigger and better' things to move on to now, she will no longer be contributing to fanfic. So join me in saying goodbye and wishing her good luck in whatever she attempts. (Her name is Bernice, by the way.)_

_So from now on, Valentinemenitis is a solo act. (sob) Well… not that she's been contributing in the last year or so…_

_Anyway… end of my author's note, enjoy this new chapter._

* * *

**Chapter 10**

Ysabel felt, in a single simple word, uncomfortable…

She sat in a small room with Julia sitting between her and Cecile. On the table in the middle of the room which they crowded around was the largest selection of dress materials Ysabel had ever seen.

"We're going to make the most beautiful wedding gown for you, Julia," Celi said with glee. "Adalbert is so lucky."

Julia picked one up and said, "I still like my uniform because it's comfortable and easy to move around in."

"Nonsense," Celi said. "You can't wear your uniform as a wedding gown."

Ysabel could only smile. Celi had insisted that she joined the 'important discussion'. She felt out of place here but she was careful in hiding that fact. She had neither opinions to voice nor any experience in bridal wear… Personally, she'd rather be in the drilling yard or assuming her family's responsibility as Head of Intelligence of the Demon Tribe.

Ysabel had found out many things since coming to Shin Makoku a week ago, mostly about her duchy in the west and her parents. Apparently, her mother had practically died from heartbreak not long after her own 'death'.

Her father was assassinated in a raid of Edel a few months ago as the humans' first sign of retaliation. Though hard to belief, she had accepted these facts, slowly that is. Only by Shinou's orders to remain in the capital stopped her from travelling to her duchy.

Ysabel had seen little of the three brothers. They always seemed to busy with either this thing or that. With the war coming, she supposed it was only natural.

"What do you think, Ysabel?" Celi asked all of a sudden. The question Ysabel feared throughout the whole time she was in this room had finally popped up.

_Impromptu time… _Just as Ysabel was about to say something, there was a knock on the door. Ysabel sighed with relief.

"Come in," Celi called out.

The door opened and Conrad, dressed in his blue uniform, came in. He bowed slightly to the ladies in the room.

"I asked Conrad to come here so that we could have a man's point of view," Celi explained. Her voice turned dramatic. "He visits the castle _so _rarely. He's always making excuses like he's too busy with training."

Conrad couldn't help but chuckle a little. "I'm sorry, Mother," he apologized. He turned to the two other present in the room. "Julia, Ysabel," he acknowledged.

"Thank you for coming, Sir Weller," Julia smiled.

Just then, Doria appeared outside. She was clearly out of breath. "Your… Majesty," she said between gasps. "Lord… von Christ… sent me to… look for you."

Celi's eyes widened. "Oh…" she said. "I forgot that Günter wanted to talk to me."

"That's alright, Your Majesty," Julia said. "We can do this some other time."

Celi nodded and she and Doria left. "I have to go as well," Julia said. "Gisela is waiting for me." She turned to Ysabel. "I'd like it very much if you were to stop by my room this evening." Ysabel nodded and with that, she went out the door, leaving the room empty save for Conrad and Ysabel.

"Should I assume that you have some place to go too?" Conrad asked Ysabel with an amused tone.

Ysabel smiled in amusement and shook her head. "No."

"Anywhere in particular you wanted to go to?" Conrad said as they both emptied the room. "I could escort you."

Ysabel thought as she walked beside him. "Not really."

Conrad smiled. "Great," he said.

Ysabel turned a questioning glance in Conrad's direction at the unexpected response.

"It's about time you picked a horse."

* * *

"It wasn't exactly the wisest thing to travel here in Big Simaron's military uniform," Conrad was saying. 

"Well," Ysabel said as she tried getting used to her new horse. "I didn't exactly have much of a choice either. Between the choice of getting into a few fights and freezing to death, I picked the obvious."

Ysabel sat on top of a grey mare quite alike the one she had when she was a little girl back in Edel. Conrad rode on his brown stallion beside her. They were riding around the grounds near the marshalling yard.

"So I've heard," Conrad chuckled. "We should be training your swordsmanship, you know."

"You… Train me?" Ysabel asked in mock surprise. "Last I checked it was I who won all the sword duels we ever had."

Conrad smiled. "Only because you cheated."

"I have you know, I never cheat," Ysabel said matter-of-factly. "It was you who fell for the same trick twice in a row."

"I have no excuse then," Conrad said, even though both he and Ysabel knew he had a perfectly good excuse as to why he did so.

"Commander!" a voice cut through the air causing both Aristocrats to turn. A company of soldiers stood not far away.

Conrad smiled sheepishly. "I guess I forgot I had training this morning."

Ysabel shook her head. "That's unlike you, Conrad." Suddenly, her face lit up. _I wonder how different the standards are here… _She turned to her childhood friend. "Hey Conrad…"

"Yes?"

Her face twisted into a smirk. "I was wondering…"

* * *

Three hours later, a company of soldiers struggled towards their barracks. Some of them held their backs in pain while some supported fellow comrades with various injuries. 

While they all had different areas in need of medical care (which they would see Lady Gisela about later), in all their head rang a common question: Why did I sign up for the army again?

* * *

_**a/n:**_

Okay, so I haven't much to say. I hoped you all like this chapter. This was actually just some YsabelXConrad bonding.

_**To i love athrun: Thanks so much for sticking with me till now!**_

_**To Erisabeisuu: Ahhaha, you reviewed! Tear… I'm so, so glad you liked the playful chapter!**_

_**To TwilightVixen: I'm so glad you liked the story. I just want to say I have no intentions on giving up on this story. Just between you and me… (leans closer to TwilightVixen) This is my most successful story.**_

_**Additional thanks to: TwilightVixen, magicalbrat, terriestal-angell and hu3long2 for seeing my story is worthy enough to add to their list(s).**_

_**To All my readers: Thanks for reading, means a lot to me. I hope I sill continue to keep up to your expectations. Reviews are welcomed as always and I hope to hear your opinions.**_

_Kay… so… yea… I'm hoping to reach 2k hits on the story and maybe 20 reviews after this upload? _

_Stay tuned for the next chapter which will prolly come sooner than this upload. And if you want to thank anyone for my coming back to life? You guys can thank TwilightVixen. Her review … sent me a jolt back to non-reality, so to speak!_

_Until my next upload,_

_Forever,_

_**Val.**_


	12. Gunter and Julia

_**Author's Note: **__Okay, so I'd like to announce that thanks to all you who has continued to stay tune for updates on KKM Rewrite, this story has finally reached over 2000 hits! Well over that actually. Five of my chapters even have 3 digit numbers of hits! So… I thought we'd celebrate with a new Chapter. Thanks for your support, All!_

_**Disclaimer**__: I don't own Kyou Kara Maou or any of its characters but the OC and plot are mine… xD silver lining…_

* * *

**Chapter 11**

Ysabel walked down the fire lit corridors of Blood Pledge Castle. The place was enormous and not to mention highly confusing.

Conrad was called away by one of the maids on some urgent matter. Silently, Ysabel wondered how the castle could continue functioning properly with only three maids that not only did the cleaning, but cooking and relaying of messages.

Ysabel stopped with she came to a cross junction. She turned left and right… then left again.

"Let's see…" she pondered aloud. "Which way was it to Julia's room again?" She closed her eyes. Suddenly, she felt a slight pull towards the right. Ysabel shrugged. Right it was then.

Basically, this was how Ysabel made her way _anywhere_. Being here for such a short amount of time, she couldn't really make her way through the maze of corridors. All this time, she was relying on her… 'Body Memories', as Shinou referred to them as. Ysabel wasn't complaining of course, no. As long as she got to where she needed to go. Plus, going through experiences like this helped her trust her instincts more.

Ysabel put one foot in front of the other, passing portraits, pottery and doors until she came to a stop again. "Damn cross junctions…" she muttered as she gazed down the there options, slightly annoyed. She raised an eyebrow. That feeling… She couldn't explain it. It was as if it was natural for her to feel that way. She sighed. So may mysteries. Straight on.

More walking… until something caught her eye.

She turned to the two large portraits hanging on her left. "King Shinou and the Great Sage," she said unconsciously. She chuckled slightly when the image of Josak slashing the portraits up came to mind. Mentally, she noted she would spare the castle such a loss. It was, after all, a very nicely painted piece of art.

Footsteps pulled her out of her thoughts. Instinctively, her hand flew to her hilt.

"Ysabel?" a voice called out. Ysabel immediately identified who is was and relaxed.

"Günter," she smiled. Honestly, she thought it was funny calling people she logically knew for only a few days by their first names but somehow it felt… right.

"Isn't this familiar," Günter said as she came to a stop beside her, gazing at the portraits. He was in his usual attire. He had his glasses on and a book under his arm.

Ysabel cocked her head. "Familiar?"

* * *

_(Flashback)_

_A little girl in a violet dress ran down the corridor. Her hair trailed behind her and the hem of the dress flapped wildly around her ankles._

_Cross junction. The girl scowled. Why were there always __**so many**__cross junctions in a castle? Didn__'__t any of the grown ups get lost too?_

_She closed her eyes. It was a trick her mother had taught her. If she ever got lost, all she needed to do was close her eyes, calm down and let her feelings take over. __"__Edels are known for their almost second nature sixth sense, after all,__"__ her mother had said. Not that she understood what it meant but hey, as long as she got to where she needed to go._

_Her eyes shot open. Right._

_Julia__'__s room was __**somewhere **__around here, right?_

_She skidded to a stop. __"__Another one?__"__ she wailed. Forcing herself to calmness. Straight. She was off again._

_As she ran, she looked left and right for a door that looked familiar. Suddenly, she stopped. Two great portraits hung of the wall._

_Mother had explained these pictures to her before. Her brows knotted. What did she say again? She remember the pictures were of really important people__…__ a light bulb sprung to life above her head._

"_King Shinou and the Great Sage!__"__ she cried in triumph. And Father said she forgets all the lectures she goes through._

"_Ysabel?__"__ a voice said._

_She turned towards the origin._

"_Lord Günter,__"__ she said politely._

_A man in white came to stop beside her. A book was tucked underneath his arm. He took his glasses off. __"__There__'__s no need for formalities outside of court,__"__ he smiled._

_Ysabel paused. Her face then broke into a smile as she nodded._

"_So,__"__ he said as he squatted down to the same level as she. __"__What__'__s a young lady like yourself wandering through the hallways at this time?__"_

"_Julia__'__s sick,__"__ the girl said grimly. __"__I came to visit her.__"_

"_Is that so?__"__ Günter said in feigned surprise. __"__I didn__'__t know Young Julia was sick. Shall we visit her together?__"_

"_Okay!__"__ the little girl said brightly. Her smile broadened._

_(End Flashback)_

* * *

"Familiar indeed," Günter confirmed. Her expression turned doubtful. "Though you might not remember… I heard from Gisela…"

"No, no," Ysabel said quickly. "I remember. It was the first time I met you outside of court."

Günter nodded. "That's right." He turned to Ysabel. "Can I assume you're headed to Julia's room?"

Ysabel gave him a lopsided grin. "Some things really don't change…"

"I'll walk with you," Günter offered.

Ysabel accepted and they set off again.

"How is your stay so far?" he asked after a moment of silent walking.

"Things are… different now," Ysabel answered truthfully. "So many thing have changed."

"You've been gone a long time," Günter stated. "Things weren't as … simple as they were so many years ago."

"So many things I didn't think would happen happened," the words fell from her lips unconsciously. Ysabel blinked in surprise.

"Well, among other things, at least something we foresaw before happened now," Günter said, oblivious to her shock.

"Really?" Ysabel asked as they rounded a corner. "What?"

Günter smiled. "You've bloomed into a beautiful flower."

Ysabel couldn't help but blush at that comment.

The rest of the way to Julia's room was relatively quiet. They halted before a oaken double door. "Well, I shall take me leave here," Günter said. He turned to leave. "Oh, and I almost forgot," he said, looking over his shoulder.

"What is it?"

"We received a letter today," he said. "Military representatives of the Edel Royal guard are coming. They should arrive somewhere within the week as soon as tomorrow morning, if they push their horses, that is."

Ysabel wasn't sure how to react to the news. In other words, the head of the Edel Aristocrats' Bodyguards are arriving as soon as tomorrow morning. And they only tell her now? What would they think of her? Would she know the head? Was she suppose to know the head? What was she going to do?

"I'm sorry," Günter said suddenly. "You don't have to come to terms with your past so soon if you feel you're not ready."

Ysabel snapped out of her daze. She shook her head. "No, I'll have to face it soon or later," she smiled. "Thank you for informing me."

"It was my pleasure," Günter said with a nod of the head. Jokingly, he added, "The Edels outrank the Christs in court after all." Before Ysabel could say anything, he was gone.

* * *

Ysabel lifted a hand to knock when the entrance opened. A little girl with long streaming hair walked out. Her gaze met Ysabel's.

"Oh, Lady von Edel," she said.

"Ulrike," Ysabel said.

"Ysabel," Julia said as she too appeared at the doorway. "Do come in." She turned to Ulrike. "I'll see you tomorrow then, Ulrike."

Ulrike nodded and left.

"I wasn't interrupting anything, was I?" Ysabel said as she walked through the door.

"Oh, no," Julia said. "Ulrike and I just finished our talk, in fact."

Ysabel moved to the chair beside the window and Julia took the seat opposite her. "So, how's Shinou treating you?" Julia asked.

Ysabel snapped towards Julia. Did she know? Did she know she was on Earth all this time? Or was it just some way of asking 'How's the world treating you'?

"Alright, I suppose," Ysabel answered, slightly uncomfortably.

"Really? I thought he would be pretty hard on you considering all that's happening," Julia said as she poured tea. "Have you made progress in your maryoku training with him?"

Ysabel's jaw dropped.

"Yes, I know," Julia smiled as she passed the a cup to her guest. "Though only recently when His Majesty told me. I have to say, I'm sorry that you have to be tied to him like that. I know he's not exactly the easiest person to get along with."

"O-oh…" was the only thing Ysabel could say.

"And so that means you know my decision," Julia said before taking a sip of her tea.

Ysabel snapped out of her daze. "Julia, you can't. What about what's it's going to do to Conrad?" Ysabel noticed what she had ended the sentence with and hastily added, "and the others."

If Julia was aware of her discomfort, she didn't show it.

"I don't think I'll have to worry," Julia said. Ysabel couldn't help but feel Julia wanted to add the words: 'about Conrad'. She quickly shook the feeling. "Though honestly, I do still feel worry."

Ysabel didn't know what to say.

"I love them all, Adalbert, Conrad, Gisela, Her Majesty," Julia said, fingering her cup. "They're like family to me."

Ysabel heaved a sigh. "I feel like a ghost… Like I don't belong here."

"You mustn't think that way," Julia chided lightly. "Conrad would indeed feel sad if he heard you say that," she added with a chuckle.

Ysabel suddenly grew scarlet. "I… er… don't know…" she stammered. "what you mean…" she finished lamely.

Julia merely continued to chuckle, causing Ysabel to feel more discomfort.

"Tell me something…" Julia said suddenly.

"What?"

"Are they happy?" Julia asked seriously. She looked off out the window. "After such black times, are they happy?"

Ysabel was taken aback by the question. Flashes of laughter and smiles entered her mind. "Yes… they are."

Julia didn't say anything. She smiled.

Ysabel couldn't help but feel uneasiness behind that smile.

* * *

_**a/n:**_

_Yay! Another chapter up! And so, so, so much faster than the last one. I'll grant though. This chapter isn't very long is it? Oh well… So what didcha guys think bout this chappy? Was it good? Was it bad? You can flame me if you want to, really you can._

_**To**_ _**iloveathrun**_:_**Thank so much for your support! Means a lot to me!**_

_**To**__**TwilightVixen:**__**I'm so glad you like my story and am even more glad you think I'm a good writer! (blush) I hope I didn't disappoint you with this chapter!**_

_**To**__**Erisabeisuu:**__**Wow, I'm so happy you actually liked the last chapter. And yeah, I, myself, liked the Army bit too! Lol, go Ysabel!**_

_**To**__**munch007:**__** Thanks so much for the complitment! Oh dear me, I'm blushing again! And yes, I do strife for that quality in my stories so I'm glad I've somewhat achieved it!**_

_**To**__**All my Readers**__**: Thank you all for sticking with me so far, I know I made you guys wait really long for some of there chapters. Your support is loved and reviews are even more loved. Lol So go on, gimme a review! You know you want to!**_

_Hehehe… I got 4 reviews on my last chapter! Yay! New record for me! Hehe… I'm still so happy I got 4 lol. (yea, I know people get like 1020 reviews per chapter but hey, I'm a simple person.Don't take too much to make me happy.)_

_I'd be happy to get maybe 5 reviews on this chapter? Of course if you guys wanted to give me more, who am I to object. Lol. I live to serve (the readers)._

_Dang, I think I'm about half done with this story. I think I'll have to keep childhood memories to a minimal cause… well… I can't think of any lol. If you guys have any ideas, drop me an email._

_Stay tuned for my next chapter! Things are starting to get more interesting from here on end._

_Until my next update,_

_Forever,_

_**Val.**_


	13. Seeds of Doubt

_**Disclaimer**__: I don't own Kyou Kara Maou or any of its characters but the OC and plot are mine… xD silver lining…_

_**Author's Note: **__I admit, I've been putting off writing these past few weeks. I was going through withdrawal systems most of the time though. I only got 1 review on the last chapter… was it really that bad?_

_Nah, anyway, I'm sorry for the loooong wait. Well, here it is, chapter 12._

* * *

**Chapter 12**

"You're frowning a lot more than usual, Your Excellency," he said, "and that's saying something."

Gwendal threw Josak an annoyed look before turning back to the window facing the training grounds. Directly below were the unsuspecting figures of a brown-haired soldier and a black-haired noble.

"You know," Josak continued, "you of all people should be happy that she's back. I mean, Lady Julia did say that she could resume her family post when she deemed it all right. Now you not only get to get rid of me, you can focus on the Military Department!"

Josak paused as if in thought. "Taking care of the Intel and the Military Department isn't exactly my idea of a holiday. Of course, there always could be the possibility that you _liked _being overworked."

"A twelve-year-old mazoku child," Gwendal mused aloud, "dies falling into a ridge famous for rapids. Chances of survival are less than zero percent. One hundred and fifty years later, she appears again as if nothing ever happened with no recollection whatsoever of what she had been doing the entire period she was missing." Too convenient. How could she— 

Gwendal stopped short. He blinked in shock. It took him awhile to recover. Conrad had smiled! Not an empty forced smile like usual but one of true and pure joy. Simple happiness. Conrad had mastered the ability to put on a convincing fake smile but he had yet to find a way to deceive his own brother.

Gwendal balled his fists. Seeing his brother's smile made him even more determined to unmask the imposter. To fool around with someone's feelings to this extent… it was simply callous!

However, somewhere at the back of his head, he knew there was the present possibility that she was real. No tricks. Still, what were the chances of that? Also, somewhere slightly closer to the front of his head, a question hovered.

"_Fake or not, did he really have the right to take away this happiness away from his own brother?"_

Gwendal shook his head to get rid of that idea, at least for now. Regardless, he had to act. "I want you to follow her. I want to know what she's hiding."

* * *

"I want you to follow her. I want to know what she's hiding."

It took a while for the words to register in Josak's mind. He frowned. Deep down, he knew that Ysabel had been the one that saved them that day on the Hydrofoil. One did not just 'drift' full miles in one night and Josak, for one, knew he didn't do anything. He would not even be here if it were not for her. He owed her his life.

Sure, she had her… devilish side, Josak thought as the scene where he brought her her dinner and sword played in his mind but to believe that she was evil, Josak just couldn't do it. No, she was real, he just knew it.

Still, the words practiced so often slipped from his lips. "I understand."

Gwendal nodded before returning his attention to the paperwork on his desk, indicating Josak was dismissed.

Josak turned around placed his hand on the door handle. _As for 'what she's hiding', _he thought, _everyone has things they'd prefer not to share with others._ A mazoku boy crying on his mother's unmarked headstone entered his mind.

"Not that my opinion matters, Your Excellency," Josak said, quite unconsciously. "But I think she's who she says she is." _Boy, that was a mouthful._

Gwendal looked up again. There was a moment of silence before Gwendal asked, "Why do you have so much faith in her."

_And don't come back! _Her voice rang.

Hands on her hips, she stuck her tongue out after the fleeing figures. _Those bullies._

Teary blue eyes looked up in awe from where I sat on the ground. _Why…_

She turned around and held her hand out to me. _Hm? _Her black eyes bore into his.

He could bear to look at her anymore. _Why did you save me?_

She grinned sheepishly. _Save? I just told to go away… Hardly saving…_

_They were right… I… I… I'm just the half-blood that hides behind the maou's son!_

She smile disappeared. _That's not true! No one's hiding behind anyone!_

He was shortly stunned. _Why are you so nice to me? They're right. I could just leave you all and become your enemy when I become sixteen._

Her expression fell. _That's true, you can go and become one of them when you turn sixteen but I'd be very sad if you did._

Silence.

_But then, if you join them, it's only because you think it's right, right?_

_Why… are you like this?_

A glint appeared in her eyes.

Josak smiled inwardly. "Just a feeling I guess." With that, he walked out the door, leaving behind a slightly puzzled Gwendal.

She picked up a fallen scabbard and hit Josak, none too gently on the head.

_What was that for?_ It was more a demand than a question.

_Dummy, it's because I'm your friend. You, Conrad, and I are best friends. _Her feigned anger slipped away only to be replaced with a smile and a hand.

Josak never told anyone, not Conrad nor Ysabel, but before that day, he had seriously considered joining the humans after he became of age.

That was why he joined the mazoku spy network. To repay Ysabel by using a lifetime of service to her for stopping him from making the worse mistake of his life.

Heh… you think after what the humans had done to him and his mother, he'd have learnt a thing or two.

Josak sighed. "Men really are idiots."

* * *

"Raven, don't let her out of your sight."

"Understood."

* * *

**a/n:**

_I know this chapter is somewhat shorter but I promised a friend that I would post it this Wednesday (today) no matter what. _

_The last part was supposed to be longer but I didn't actually count on Josak and Gwendal's part to being that long either._

_**To **__**TwilightVixen:**__** Yay, you're the best, Ari. Here's the chapter, as promised. I hope your internet is better and if not, I hope I lifted your day., even if just a little.**_

I'm sure most of you were expecting to see Edel Royal Guards in this chapter. I'm sorry if I disappointed you. But, according to my calculations, they should appear in the next chapter. So, stay tuned!

Forever,

_Val_.


	14. Mistaken Beliefs

_**REVISED VERSION**_

_**Author's Note: **__Wow, two chapters and I've already broken 3000 hits. You all are just great. Without your support, I don't think I would've gotten this far! So this chapter is dedicated to all those readers who've stuck with me from the very beginning to now. Lots of love!_

_**Disclaimer**__: I don't own Kyou Kara Maou or any of its characters but the OC and plot are mine… xD silver lining…_

* * *

**Chapter 13**

"Good, good, now relax and block everything out."

A crease appeared on Ysabel's brow. _How was one supposed concentrate, relax __**and **__block everything out at the same time?_

She was losing altitude. Her heartbeat increased! _Come on… relax… relax…_Her heartbeat was slowing down again. That was a good sign. _Just a little more…_

Thump, thump… Thump, thump…

_Just a little more…_

Thump, thump… Thump, thump…

"Hey, be careful!" Shinou's voice sounded.

THUMP!

"Ow…" Ysabel hissed, rubbing her sore backside. She looked up to where a decidedly amused Shinou was looking down at her. "What was that for?" she demanded.

Shinou bent down and offered a hand. "You were getting too relaxed."

Ysabel glowered at him before taking his hand and pulled to her feet. "What do you mean?"

"You were getting so relaxed to the point where you were forgetting to concentrate on the air that you're manipulating," Shinou said matter-of-factly. "You were sitting crossed-legged just now, but if you were standing, you would have fallen ages ago. Lifting yourself isn't as easy as lifting small objects."

"It not my fault your instructions are contradicting themselves…" Ysabel muttered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing," Ysabel said. The last thing that she was going to allow herself to do was to complain and whine. "You know, you could have at least _tried _to catch me when I was falling…"

Shinou raised an eyebrow. "You were hovering five feet of the ground. I highly doubt it hurt you much." He flashed a devilish grin. "Plus, we don't want you accidentally falling for me now, do we?"

Ysabel gave him a blunt look. "Don't flatter yourself."

Shinou grin merely broadened at her comment. "Well, on the bright side, you're doing much better compared to your last lesson."

"This is my first lesson," Ysabel said, her tone demanding an explanation.

"You see my point then," he answered brightly.

Before Ysabel could retort, a bird flew out of the foliage above them casing several green leaves to fall. A sword materialized in her hand and she lashed out by pure instinct.

Two halves of a leaf floated gently down onto the ground.

_This feeling… It's so familiar…A memory? Nostalgia… _Ysabel shook her head. _No, a…_ Ysabel blinked. The sword in her hand disappeared and that's when she realized. Her sword lay several feet away, leaning against the tree trunk.

"That technique is, more or less, called the 'Hidden Sword'," Shinou explained behind her. "It's where the user manipulates the air around him or her, forming a sword in their hand, and then using it to attack the enemy. Whether or not it works as well as a real sword normally depends on how good the magic user is. It's commonly known as the Edel family's signature move."

There was a pause.

"It was founded by Charles von Edel."

A strange type of remorse washed over her. It was hard to explain. It was like mourning for a departed stranger. No, stranger was the wrong word. More like a person that she never took the time to know. Yeah, it was something like that.

She let out a sigh of frustration while sinking to a crouch. She buried her face into her arms. _He was my father, goddamn it. I should be feeling more…_

She look over the east mounts where the sun was rising, casting a purple glow to the sky. "Hey, Shinou…"

"Yes?"

"Are you sure there's no way to just give me back all my memories?"

Shinou heaved a sigh and came to sit down beside her. "You know if there was, I would have already done it. But in a sense, I did." He added as an after-thought, trying to perk the moment. It failed.

"Yeah, but I don't remember them until someone else mentions them," Ysabel murmured loud enough for him to hear. "I feel like… I'm living someone else's life…"

Shinou just kept quiet. It didn't help the situation one bit but it did make her feel much better. Having someone know and just be there to listen.

"I was a girl in an orphanage," Ysabel said, the words falling out of her mouth without thinking. "They told me I was probably heavily abused because of the state they found me in. Soaked to the bone, clothes torn, bruises, the such. Plus, the fact that I couldn't remember anything only strengthened the theory."

"I actually thought my parents didn't love me." Hot tears stung her eyes as the first seven memories she received from Shinou played over and over in her mind as if accusing her. Charles' warming smile; Robyn's silvery laughter. "I'd pray everyday to get adopted by someone who would love me."

"When that didn't happen, it was being sent to a world far away from _that_ reality."

She buried her face in her arms again. "Who knew it'd be this painful though…" the muffled words were barely audible.

Ysabel felt a hand gently stroking her hair as she silently cried away years of mistaken beliefs and hardships away.

"The day I died, I gave up free will for a second chance at life…"

* * *

Words could not describe the guilt that wrung at Shinou's heart at that moment. He was responsible for almost every wrong that life had done to her, both past and future. He didn't even have the right to comfort her at times like these, not with what he was planning to do to her.

_Maybe I don't have to do it… not like that…_

His eyes took in the sight beside him. So helpless, so innocent… Shinou steeled himself.

He only wished that there was another way…

At the sound of approaching footsteps, Shinou slowly faded away, knowing that she would be in good hands.

* * *

He swung a leg over coffee-colored horse and galloped out of the main gate. Where could she have gone? Dawn hadn't even broken yet.

She wasn't in her room or anywhere else on the castle grounds as far as he was concern so where was she? He smiled. She hadn't changed one bit when it came to habits. Always disappearing off, causing people to send search parties after her. Then she would reappear at the end of the day, smiling, oblivious to all the panic and mayhem she had caused.

But of course, by that time, she would already have tired herself out. Yawning, she would curl up on Lady Robyn's lap and fall asleep almost immediately. Then after seeing such a peaceful and innocent face, everyone would be drained of their anger and forget about scolding her.

After a full ten minutes of scouting the nearby surroundings, his military trained eyes spotted something on top of a hill with a large Oak on.

* * *

The tears wouldn't stop flowing.

Ysabel vaguely knew she had been crying for quite awhile but no matter how much she tried to stop, she couldn't. It was as if all the tears that had been held back took this opportunity to empty.

She looked up again. This time Conrad sat beside her, patiently stroking her hair. To say she was too busy crying to feel surprised at his sudden appearance wouldn't be too far away from the truth.

He wasn't trying to stop her tears, trying to calm her down nor was he asking why she was crying, which Ysabel was tremendously grateful for. He was just there for her. Waiting patiently for her to stop at her own pace.

* * *

A faint smile touched his lips as he continued to stroke her twilight hair. Her head lay against his shoulder. Her tear-stained face was at peace. She had cried herself to sleep. Well, taking into the consideration of the time, she couldn't have gotten much sleep last night.

A frown spread over his face. _What did she mean though? She was muttering. It was something about free will and a second chance. _However, that was pretty much all he could make out.

The sun was rising. The sign of a new day. A warm orange light crawled across buildings of Shin Makoku and finally creeping onto the couple on top of the hill.

However, when it came alight on her face, her brow creased and she buried her face into his shoulder, hoping to escape its rays.

Her eyes flickered.

* * *

Ysabel opened her eyes. Blurry vision cupped with a strong orange hue was sending headaches to her cranium.

Conrad sat beside her. _Hm… so, I wasn't hallucinating…_

Her head felt too heavy, too dizzy to move so she let herself lean against him, just this once.

They sat there in silence for a while, watching the sunrise bathe the scene before them a rich golden color. When it became apparent that Conrad wasn't going to start the conversation, Ysabel asked the obvious.

"Aren't you wondering why was crying?"

Conrad took his eyes off the sun and turned to her before answering. "I figured that you'd tell me when you were ready but then, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

More silence.

"I'll tell you one day," Ysabel said. Suddenly, she felt a presence. An onlooker. Conrad must have felt his presence too for they both leapt to their feet and the exact same moment.

In the blink of an eye, Conrad had his hand of his hilt and Ysabel 'summoned' her sword from the base of the tree trunk.

"Show yourself," Ysabel said.

At first, nothing moved. Then, footsteps sounded and out from the undergrowth, stepped out a man in an auburn overcoat.

* * *

**a/n:**

Okay, new chappy! Did you like it? I hope you did, I spent like the entire week mulling over the scenes.

Because I got more reviews than the last chapter, which is super, I thought I'd thank you all by updating super fast, with a not so super long chapter.

Okay, forgive me just this once. I'm not going to answer reviews on this chapter because if I did, I'd have to upload this another day and let's just say I'll only have Internet access again next Wednesday.

Please review! Review more than the last chapter and I'll try super hard to update super quick.

**F.A.Q**

**Q: Was that guy who rode out of the main gates with the coffee horse Conrad?**

_A: No, that wasn't._

**Q: Will this be an OCxShinou or OCxMulti?**

_A: Erm… No, it won't. It may seem like that now but it won't._

**Q: I'm pretty confused about the order of events in this chapter. Clear it up for me?**

_A: Lesson with Shinou. Talk with Shinou happens at the time of the rider with the coffee horse. Conrad appeared somewhere near the end of talk. Auburn coat guy actually reaches Ysabel before Conrad but doesn't approach her._

**Q: WHY? (refers to previous question)**

_A: I'm sorry, I'm not at liberty to tell. But fear not, all will be made clear._

**Q: You keep making Shinou seem like he's guilty. Is he going to do something so bad, we'll regard him as a bloody freaking bastard?**

_A: Erm… lol, this is a hard one. Depends on how much he has to do to be regarded as a BFB to you guys individually._

**Q: By your standards, is Shinou going to do something to make him a BFB?**

_A: Er, no. Just a bastard cause I like Shinou. )_

**Q: Last question. Are you super high or high with super?**

_A: I'm high with super ) means I keep saying 'super'!_

Mmm… It's March people! Do you know what that _meansss?_ Hmm… hmm… do ya, do ya? I'll tell ya why! Next month is April!!

(readers look at Val strangely… eyes occassionally fickerring to the cup besider her.)

No, I'm not drugged. (lol). Next month, Kyou Kara Maou will be releasing its THIRD season! (In case you don't are already know of course.) Ooooo, I can't wait!

So until my next update,

Forever,

_Val._


	15. The Auburn Soldier

_**Author's Note: **__It is to my personal research that practically nobody reads the top a/n so I'm not going to bother writing anything important here anymore. Chapter 14 is up, enjoy!_

_**Disclaimer**: I don't own Kyou Kara Maou or any of its characters but the OC and plot are mine… xD silver lining…_

* * *

**Chapter 14**

Both of them stood battle ready, hands on hilts, as the man stepped out of his hiding place. His sandy brown hair stood short and looked slightly messy though it was clear he put effort into keeping it as tidy as possible. The slightly oversized collar of his grey trimmed vivid auburn overcoat was kept up and even though it was buttoned fully, it revealed a white undershirt. Twin swords were belted at his waist. The ends of his auburn pants were tucked into his high riding boots which were a dark shade of brown. His deep blue eyes were alert and bright, carrying an almost threatening aura with it. The expression on his face discouraged socializing.

Out from the corner of her eye, Ysabel saw Conrad's fingers slack slightly. "Lo—"he started. Conrad was interrupted by the ringing of metal as the new comer drew his swords. Ysabel's narrowed eyes widened. It felt as if someone had struck a bell inside her mind. _"Lo…" _It felt so familiar. A... a… a name! She was sure of it. _A place? No, definitely a person's._ Ysabel was so lost in her own thoughts that she only brought up her sword with moments to spare. The newcomer had attacked her!

"_Lo…" _The first syllable kept ringing in her head. It nagged at the back of her mind as she pushed the attacker away. _"Lo…" _The attacker stumbled backwards but quickly regained his composure. Ysabel's eyes narrowed again. This wasn't your average soldier.

_Her eyes were blinded with tears. She fiercely tore her eyes away from the towering figure and ran._

Ysabel blinked. _Flashback?_ "Lo…" That syllable hung there, in a place just inches away out of her reach. She didn't have time to ponder more before the newcomer dashed forward again. There swords met. His eye reflected determination this time. _"Lo…"_

_She pulled open a heavy wooden door and ran down the flight of stairs that waited on the other side._

Ysabel's eye widened when she noticed that she parrying against only one of the attackers sword. The attacked brandished his second sword and it came swinging down on her unprotected left side. A move out of pure desperation, Ysabel left hand let go of her hilt. She immediately felt the burden increase on her right. Ysabel's eyes flashed as she willed the air around her hand. The attack spot short as it met an invisible force. The attacker only showed slight traces of being taken aback before he continued to apply pressure.

"_Lo…" _Ysabel's right hand was straining. Perspiration ran down her forehead as she tried to hold her position. She wasn't too concern about her right at the moment. It was the left that held her worry. She could feel control slowly slipping away despite her best efforts. Just as her wind sword disappeared, Ysabel dropped and rolled out of harms way.

_She panted as she scouted the cells for something. Her eyes met a boy with sandy brown hair and a small frame sulking in a corner. She unlocked the bars and pulled the door open. He looked up._

"Who are you?" Ysabel shouted at the attacker. _"Lo…"_ That bloody syllable was getting very annoying.

Something flickered behind the attacker's eyes. A faint sign of… pain? Regret? Sorrow? Ysabel couldn't really pinpoint it but she was sure it was somewhere along those lines. The attacker ignored her question, brandished his swords and dashed forward with inhuman speed. _"Lo…"_

_She threw a sword at the feet of the boy. "Get up," she demanded. Her eyes were no longer teary. The boy was taken aback for a moment, fear flickered in his eyes. "Now!" she half shouted. He cringed before taking hold of the sword and standing up… "Battle ends at first blood!" She drew he own sword and ran forward._

CLASH! "Battle ends at first blood!" Ysabel's eye widened. _Hold on_, she mused silently. It wasn't only the little girl's voice yelling the last line. The attacker's voice rang with the clashing of their swords. _"Lo…"_ Ysabel's brows knotted. This was getting severely annoying. Placing her weight firmly on her legs, she pushed the attacker back and began to fight back.

Left, right, left, right. It was clear from the way the boy held his sword that he was new but not entirely foreign to swords. He was holding himself pretty well. Something flashed behind his eyes! It was… excitement. That was all the confirmation she needed.

Left, right, left, right. It was like being in two battles at once. Ysabel found herself unconsciously moving identically to her flashback. _"Lo…"_ CLASH! The ringing of steel sounded again. Ysabel gritted her teeth in effort not to fall under the pressure. Ysabel looked at her attacker and it connected. How could she not have noticed that this was the boy in the flashback?

Their swords met. She was slowly falling prey to the boy's superior raw power. He took a step closer. That was his mistake. He was too close. She slipped one of her legs behind his front foot and tripped him. He fell backwards; his sword fell from his grip. Her sword was instantly at his throat. Satisfied, she flicked her wrist and cut the sleeve of his shirt before turning around. She picked up the fallen sword and left without saying a word, not forgetting to lock the bars again.

The increase of pressure brought Ysabel back from her flashback. She held her hilt with both hands but even so, her wrists were threatening to give. She needed to wait for that step. She had a feeling that one way or another, the attacker would do so. _"Lo…"_

For what seemed to be hours, they held in that position. The attacker still hadn't taken the step. Ysabel could feel herself slowly losing her grip. She couldn't hold much longer. Then it struck her. That was years, centuries, ago! A fighter of his caliber would have conquered such an obvious mistake and habit ages ago. In other words, Ysabel was in trouble. She needed to end this quickly.

"_Lo…" _Setting aside the irritating syllable for now, she searched her mind as to what do to next. She barely had any strength to push his back now. Her wrists suddenly slacked unintentionally but Ysabel quickly regained her hold. Of course, the attacker had taken advantage of her slip up. He pushed, forcing Ysabel to take a step back. Her eyes widened as he took a step forward. _That was it!_

Ysabel took another step back, just to make sure. The attacker stepped forward again. Careful not to show triumph on her face, she feigned a step backwards. This time, without even letting her fully step back, the attacker stepped forward. He realized his mistake too late. Mustering what fragments of strength she had left, she pushed him back, causing his unbalance then swung out with a left foot, amplifying the kick by swinging her entire body around. Before the attacker could recover, Ysabel's sword point appeared at his throat. He looked at the point of her sword, then back up at her, as if expecting something. Ysabel flicked her wrist and cut the sleeve of his coat. "That's what you wanted, wasn't it?" she said. She felt as if a ton of bricks had been dumped on her head as she remembered.

She stood behind her father as they walked down towards the cell block. They walked another length before coming to a stop before a cell with a sole boy that looked barely ten years of age. The grill creaked open and he looked up, his eyes filled with fear again. Charles' voice reverberated off the stone walls. "I'll give you a chance to atone for your past crime—" a sword in its scabbard was thrown down at his feet. "Will you take it?"

A pause. His eyes no longer reflected fear but determination and gratitude now stood in its place. He stood up and bent down to pick the sword up. Charles smiled. "Good lad. We'll make a soldier out of you yet, young Lo…"

"Gan?" the word slipped from her mouth. Ysabel looked down at him. A new kind of feeling arose within her. It was the feeling of reacquainting with a long lost friend. A happiness with blurry origins swelled up inside her. "Logan?"

Logan smiled from his position on the ground. His eyes were still bright and alert but its aura was replaced with one of warmth and openness. "Welcome back," he said. "Your Exellency."

**(I was planning on stopping here but because I feel obliged to, I'll continue another chapter's worth.)**

* * *

The trio rode down towards Blood Pledge Castle at a slow walk but it was mostly due to the fact that an overexcited double black was bombarding a poor soldier dressed in vivid auburn limitless questions.

"So they aren't only ten aristocrats?" Ysabel cocked her head to one side. If she remembered correctly, Günter (in the anime) said that Shin Makoku was divided into ten countries which were ruled by one family.

Conrad and Logan exchanged looks. "No," Logan replied. "They are, in fact, eleven." His face darkened vaguely. "But because Edel's bloodline stopped, the country's government fell to the von Bielefeld, our neighbors."

"That's why Wolfram has been… avoiding you," Conrad added.

Ysabel blinked. Wolfram had been avoiding her? It never really struck her as that. She had always thought that the fact that they hadn't had a proper encounter yet was because time didn't permit. Or was it? Now that she thought back… Ysabel turning the corner to find a fleeting glimpse of blonde hair disappearing down a different hall was a common happening inside the castle. Now that she thought back, Wolfram really had been avoiding her…

"Hm…" Ysabel needed to sort this out.

"Any other questions?" Logan asked.

Ysabel searched her mind. They were actually a whole lot of things she wanted to ask but she decided to stick to the more recent ones for now. A light bulb lit above her head. Ysabel started to explain how she unintentionally unlocked the Hidden Sword technique. "My body just reacted so I'm pretty much guessing that it's something I did when I was a kid."

Logan nodded. "Lord Charles designated it to be an exercise for practicing the 'Hidden Sword' and also sharpening reflexes," Logan started and continued with a semi-amused smile. "But you saw it more as a game."

Ysabel swore that her sweatdrop was near visible. Leave it to mini her to think of everything as a game. Heck, from what she heard about her childhood so far, it sounded like her past self had trouble differentiating games from sword fights. And speaking of sword fights…

_Battle ends at first blood!_

Why did her past self do that anyway? Logan did something, probably something considerably bad, to get himself wound up in a cell. Ysabel had gone downstairs to test his skills and willingness to enter the army. That was pretty much all she could make out.

"Hey Logan," Ysabel started. She felt awkward. She was sure this was something that hovered under personal.

"Yes?"

"If you don't mind me asking," she continued hesitantly. "Why… why were you in the cell?"

The traces of shock were very vague but they disappeared almost as fast as they had come. The trio had come to a complete halt. Logan was silent for a moment, as if trying to consider his words. From the look on Conrad's somewhat somber face, Ysabel could tell that he knew something about it but was waiting for Logan to face her himself.

"I…" he started very tentatively, "was a local thief that got away with all my crimes. You could say I was a real thorn in the side of the Edel patrol."

Ysabel's brow knotted. Thievery? She thought it would have been something much more severe. But that fact was based off the feelings she experienced in the memory. Nothing more. But also, Logan said 'crimes' but Charles had only accounted him for one. So which one was the one that ended him up in the Edel penitentiary?

"One day," he continued. "I was cornered. So I resorted to an idiotic act. At that time, a little girl was out in the market with her mother. I took the girl hostage. And as you've probably guessed, it didn't turn out quite the way I planned." He ended the last sentence with a sad smile. They started moving again. "I'm sure you know the rest of the story."

Hostage? That did seem like the kind of thing that Charles wouldn't forgive lightly. It would probably have taken his daughter's word to convince him. They were near the gates of Blood Pledge now. Ysabel didn't have anymore time to ponder before the sound of galloping horses pierced the air.

The trio looked up to see two horsemen approaching. Both of which were dressed in a long, auburn overcoats. The female rider had her dark blue hair tied high. She had sharp grey eyes that looked almost hawk-like. The male counterpart had blonde hair that rivaled the Bielefelds' and lilac eyes. They pulled their mounts to a complete halt before the trio.

"First and Second Lieutenant Nadine and Hayes," Logan introduced.

Nadine made a sharp salute while Hayes did the unexpected. He nudged his grey stallion forward and took hold of Ysabel's hands. "Wha--" Ysabel said, taken aback at Hayes' action.

Hayes bowed his head and murmured something only barely audible. "Whatever your orders, Your Excellency," he said in a all-serious tone. "Be sure that I will execute them with every ounce of effort such a lowly military man such as myself can _possibly_ produce."

Something stirred inside Ysabel. She couldn't think, hence she couldn't respond. She absolutely hated brain cramps. "Thank… you?" she answered unsurely.

"No," he said, his head still bowed. "It is I who must thank you." He looked up and starred into her eyes. "For finally appearing." He kissed the back of her hand lightly. "The one whose beauty pales heaven's very light."

"Hayes," Nadine said from behind him. Her tone was chilling and void of all emotions. "Stop playing your games."

"Okay okay, Nadine," Hayes laughed as he returned Ysabel her hands. "My apologies, Lady Ysabel." He brought his right hand up in a smart salute. "Second Lieutenant Hayes Volfield."

Ever heard of the saying 'a woman can't resist a man in uniform'? Well, sayings like that _originated _from people like Hayes. Ysabel grinned. "Not too bad, Hayes," she said. "Your courting skills are very well polished."

Hayes chuckled. "Why thank you, your Ladyship. I did a bit of asking around and you didn't seem like the type that would fall for my usuals, so I improvised a little."

Ysabel found herself falling into an amusing 'get-to-know-each-other' conversation with Hayes. Nadine made a comment every now and then but mostly let her partner do the talking. It the brief encounter, Ysabel gathered this much: Hayes was the gentleman of the bunch and Nadine was the one to keep him in check. As more and more words were exchanged, Ysabel decided she was going to like the silent soldier and flamboyant courtier.

* * *

Conrad hung behind as the second and third in commands of the Edel Royal Garrison introduced themselves. After the ruling of the Bielefelds was made official, the garrisons in Edel had changed their uniforms to the standard blue of the nobles. Only the personal guards of the previous ruler, through much argument and persistence, had been permitted to continue using the auburn of the Edels.

The military system in Edel was the same as the rest of Shin Makoku. They would have one normal army, ranking from new recruits, called cadets, to Generals. Then they would have another separate force. The personal guards, also known as the Royal Garrison, whose members were aces carefully selected from the normal army. They ranked from Privates, the lowest, to Captain, the head.

Conrad had expected the usual. Introductions, salutes, the such but definitely not the courting performed by the Second Lieutenant. A strange and unfamiliar feeling rose inside him. It was something close to… impatience but it wasn't exactly that.

"I apologize for his behavior," Logan said suddenly. "It's just the way he is."

Conrad was about to answer when he noticed that his right hand had moved unconsciously to his hilt. Thanking silently that it was in one of Logan's blind spots, he slowly moved his right hand back to the reins of his horse.

Conrad nodded in understanding. "His type appears every now and then."

Logan indulged himself with a smile. "It's time like these where one wonders how a person like him got so high in the food chain."

Silent agreement passed between them but in truth, something else was eating at Conrad. "Is it… really alright?" he asked the man beside him. "That she doesn't remember the upper half of the story?"

Logan was silent. His expression was blank. "She doesn't need to remember," he said finally.

This matter was somewhat personal but most of the rankings knew the story. The story of how the Captain of the Royal Garrison of Edel got to where he stood. "Are you afraid she'll reject you if she found out the truth?"

Again a pause. "No," Logan replied. "If it's still Ysabel von Edel standing before me, that is one thing I'll never have to worry about."

"Then why?"

"How should I say this? The Lady, she has a lot on her mind right now, doesn't she?" Logan said. "As long as I remember that I owe me my allegiance and my life, it doesn't matter. Simply put, she doesn't need to remember because I do." Logan's grip on his reins tightened.

* * *

_A/n:_

_Right so, how was the chapter? This is probably the longest chapter I've wrote so far, apart from the first chapter that had to be spilt, heh. Not much to say except that it's finally my school holidays! I get roughly a month off so I'll try to upload at least 2 to 3 more times before school starts again._

_Thanks so much to Lady Shisou and TwilightVixen for reviewing on my last chapter! I don't know where I'd be without you guys' support!_

_Of course, thanks to all the readers for sticking out with me for so long and patiently waiting for the uploads. You guys are the best!_

**FAQ**

1.**Did you model Logan after Graham Acre from Gundam 00?**

**A: **Yes I did! J Though I admit, I originally wanted him to look somewhat like Berlis.

2.**Did you model Hayes after Brock in Pokemon?**

**A: **Hell no. Cause he's from a retarted series. I modeled Hayes after Jenos Hazard from Black Cat. J

3.**Gah! Shinou wasn't in this chapter, I can't find out what his nasty scheme is. Will he be in the next on?**

**A. **Er… No, I don't think so. Next chapter's dedicated to Logan!

4.**What took you so long to update? I was waiting for ages!**

**A. **Well… during the last month of school, they bombard us with assignments so that we're too tired to brage to other schools that we don't have holiday work. Plus, third season came out and I need to twist the plot a bit so that I could in cooperate it.

5.**Now that the third season's out, will you pull kkmREWRITE longer?**

**A. **I can only say 'probably'. I love this anime but I'm not sure what I'm planning to write will clash with the cannon plot for season 3. So this is still pending.

6. **From the above, you stated that you watched Gundam 00. WHICH MEISTER DO YOU LIKE THE BEST?**

**A. **SETSUNA HANDS DOWN!!

7.**Excellent! Start a Nena Trinity Hate Club with me?**

**A. **Absolutely. Grrrr…

_Right, so until my next update,_

_Forever,_

_**Val.**_


	16. From Rat to Wolf

_**Author's Note: **Chapter 15 is up, enjoy!_

_**Disclaimer**: I don't own Kyou Kara Maou or any of its characters but the OC and plot are mine… xD silver lining…_

* * *

**Chapter 15**

A little boy, looking not much older than ten, peeked over the shrubs encircling a square, his eye glistening in awe and wonder. Why? Well, the sandy haired youth enjoying the highlight of his commoners' life: watching sword duels.

True, Logan had snuck into the Military Academy for commoners. Yes, he knew it was illegal and that he'd probably be punished if he was caught. And yup, he knew how hard it was to get past all the security, more so than others considering he, himself, broke in as often as he could. It wasn't easy but it was worth the effort.

Logan watched as the soon-to-be graduates of the academy exchange limitless blows. He felt his fingers close in on an imaginary hilt. Oh how he longed to be able to hold a sword himself. He sighed to himself. The application age requirement was still a long ways away. He'd probably die of impatience before he got anywhere near that age.

Of course, there was always that Young Soldiers' program or whatever they called it. An order where they gathered youths that showed talent and potential. Logan mentally kicked himself. Why was he even considering that? Everyone knew that the scouts only looked towards the upperclassman. Either that or a commoner having the recommendations of a noble. Heh, what nobles did he know? Also, there was also the talent bit of it all…

All of a sudden, the sound of bells ringing floated through the clashing of swords. His time was up. _Damn!_ he thought. And he had only been here for ten minutes or so…

Crouching down, he gathered his makeshift sling bag and slung it over his head and onto his opposite shoulder. Looking left and right to make sure no one was snooping around (except him, of course), he moved towards the exit.

As you've guessed, sneaking in wasn't the only hard part. Sneaking _out_ was equally frustrating. It was just a Military Academy but they were patrols _everywhere_. It was alright though. After sneaking in the a few times, he was able to memorize all the patrol times and rosters. Hiding was pretty easy too. Well, actually it depended on the people who were on patrol. People don't usually notice but they always have a blind spot or somewhere where they never take the time to look.

That's right, Logan found hiding more of a game than anything else. What could he say, it was fun knowing that you could outsmart adults!

But even with that in mind, Logan had a limitless respect for the people that resided within the walls of the academy. It was his own personal vow that he'd be standing among them one day.

Logan's exit was somewhat different than the ones normal people use. Honestly, he was surprised the inhabitants of the academy hadn't found out yet. Well, it was their fault for planting shrubs near a fence that was older than it looked. With Logan's smaller than average frame, squeezing through the hole in the fence was a piece of cake.

It was getting late, he had to get back home. But before that, he had to get dinner. He frowned. That was going to be… tricky. He reached into his sling bag and fished out all the coins he had gained today. His spirits dropped. There wasn't even enough for half a loaf of bread. He'd have to resort to _that _again.

_I have to do it, whether I like it or not…_ Sighing, he made his way to the marketplace.

* * *

_Pant… pant… pant…_

Logan ran as fast as he could. The cries from the local guard could be heard from behind him. Sweat dripped from his brow. Apparently, he had gotten too well known. They were ready for him today. They struck the moment he lifted the loaf of bread into his sling. Damn… He was doomed.

Logan turned a sharp corner and slipped in a pile of mud. His hands instinctively reached out to break his fall. Mud splattered all over his face. How did he get here? As in in this situation? One minute he was imagining himself a member of the military and the next he was running away from them. An image of a girl flashed in his head. He gritted his teeth. No, he needed to get away.

Picking himself up, he ran. Since his body was small, he could run faster. Logan had cleared the alley into a square before the guards arrived at the mouth.

Logan couldn't keep this up. He could feel his stamina failing with every step he took. The guards were gaining. People in the crowded square were pushed to the sides as the game of cat and mouse continued. Logan tried every trick in the book to shake them off but it wasn't working.

"_**You're coming back right, Logan?" her voice sounded in his ear.**_

"_**Of course, I promised I'd never leave you alone remember?"**_

That's right. He made a promise. He needed to get back. At that moment, Logan looked up and realized him mistake. His heart skipped a beat. Dead end. He turned around immediately but it was too late, the guards had already cornered. All this for a stupid loaf of bread?

"Give it up, kid," one of the guards said. "Just come quietly." Logan's heartbeat quickened.

Three were approaching him from different angles while the remaining guards keep the spectators in check. What was he going to do? They were going to capture him! Cold sweat ran down his brow. His breathing became labored and his heart threatened to jump right out of his chest.

"_**Don't steal today, kay?"**_

"_**Hm? Why?"**_

"_**If you don't sell enough things to buy dinner, it's okay cause I'm not that hungry anyway."**_

She had always been a poor liar. The truth was, she, they, were always hungry. Logan's daily routine would be going around the city collecting things to sell. Some days were better than others but they rarely made enough for one meal. Therefore, they had to sink to the level of lowly thieves.

Just then, something moved at the corner of his sight. A little girl had pushed her way to the front of the crowd on his right side. What happened next was a large blur. One moment he was looking for a way to escape and the next he was holding a rusted knife at her throat. Chaos erupted. The three guards' eye widened. Logan guessed it was because they never thought that the boy thief would make as bold a move as that. Logan didn't either.

"Now, calm down," the guard said with a forced smile. "Let's not do anything rash." He took a step forward.

"GET BACK!" Logan cried. Panic was slowly consuming him.

"Why are you doing this?" the girl asked, completely unfazed by the blade. Logan, unfortunately, had better things to do than wonder why.

"I need to," he shot his answer at her.

"MY DAUGHTER!" someone in the crowd cried in dismay. A woman with soft brown hair squeezed to the front. Her face was lined with worry, her eyes clearly showed she was near tears of horror.

"I'm alright, Mother," the girl said, trying to reassure her mother.

"Now, lad," the second guard said. "Let the young miss go."

"I don't know why you're doing this," the girl said in a low tone, "but this is wrong. Let go."

"Let my daughter go, I'll do anything!" her mother cried.

"You're in no position to tell me what to do," Logan shot back, panic turning into anger and frustration. "I _know _this is wrong. You know what else is wrong? That people like Alice have to starve everyday!"

The girl was taken aback by his sudden action? Hell, Logan was surprised at his own sudden action but it wasn't like he could apologize now, especially in this situation.

"I see," the girl said slowly after awhile. "They won't forgive you for taking me hostage so… wait."

Logan blinked. "Wait?"

She nodded. Then, with surprising strength, she twisted herself out of his grasp, skillfully dodging under his blade. Before he could react, he felt a pressure being applied to the back of his neck before darkness swarmed in from all sides.

"Lady Ysabel!"

* * *

Logan let out a groan. A dull pain rebounded endlessly off the side of his head. His blurry vision took a while to clear. He propped himself up with one hand and braced the side of his head with the other.

"What happened?" he heard himself murmur.

Then, he remembered. The memories of today's event rushed back into his head. Watching the academy at practice, stealing the loaf of bread, being chased by the local guard, then…

Logan's eyes widened. He. Did. Not! He mentally slapped himself. He took a innocent bystander _hostage_! What had he done? What had made him do such a stupid thing? He shut his eyes as tightly as he could as he felt guilt ooze throughout him.

"_**Lady Ysabel!"**_

Logan's eyes shot open. Ysabel? Lady? Then it hit him like a ton of bricks. Of all people to take hostage at the scene. The Edel's treasured daughter?

Logan blinked again before digesting what he, himself, had thought. He mentally slapped himself again. What was wrong with him? It was wrong to take _anyone_ hostage! This event was going to be an invisible scar for the rest of his life. Logan instantly felt disgusted with himself.

Then, quite unconsciously, he wondered how long 'the rest of his life' was going to be. He drew his knees up to his chin and buried his face in his arms. He felt hot tears gather in his eyes. He bit his lower lip. He wouldn't allow himself to cry. But what was he going to do? What was going to happen to Alice?

Alice!

"_**They won't forgive you for taking me hostage so… wait."**_

That was what the girl from before, Ysabel, he shook his head, _Lady _Ysabel said. What was she going to do? Asking him to wait like this, was she going to help him? He could only hope. Looking towards the overhead window, where the sun was roughly one hour away from setting, he waited.

* * *

Logan didn't have to wait very long. Lady Ysabel had come back with two swords in hand. Logan finally had his chance to hold a _real_ sword! Not some long stick decorated with imagination. To his disbelief, she had asked him for a duel. He felt he… held himself pretty well… he hoped. Since he had no idea exactly how to use one, he had to fall back on images he had gained from the Military Academy.

It wasn't much of a duel. He had the upper hand in brute strength but she had the advantage of knowing proper swordplay. Basically, it ended up with him being outsmarted.

Much to his dismay, Lady Ysabel left without a word before he could say anything. This time, he knew he was doomed. But the last person he was worrying about at the moment was himself.

"_**You're coming back right, Logan?"**_

Frustration and anger flooded his entire being in an instant. Without thinking, he lashed out and struck the stone wall. Biting back a cry of pain, he sank down and sat on the floor. Great… He was now tired, hungry, worried, helpless _and _in pain.

"Damn," he said through clenched teeth. Silent tears of infuriation flowed.

* * *

It was dark. The sun had set a long time ago and there was still no sign of the double black noble. He had waited like she told him to so why hadn't she done anything yet?

_Why am I whining? It's my own fault I'm in this mess…_ He balled his fist. _It's my fault Alice is alone right now._

The silence of the cellblock was broken by the sound of incoming footsteps. A person… no, two people were approaching. Then it occurred to Logan. Usually, when the guards came down to patrol, their footsteps were cupped with the rattling of armor. These, however, sounded like riding boots so that meant either a noble or… he gulped, the Royal Garrison.

All of a sudden, Logan was momentarily blinded by a bright light. It took him a while to adjust his eyes to the sudden light. The iron bars squeaked open and Logan found himself starring face to face with Lord Charles von Edel himself! His heart started to beat wildly. What was the noble going to do to the person who held his daughter hostage?

"I'll give you a chance to atone for your past crime," Lord Charles said. He threw something in Logan's direction. The item skidded to a halt at his feet. Logan inhaled. It was a sword but not just any sword. It had the seal of the Young Soldiers' engraved on it's scabbard. "Will you take it?" the lord asked.

It couldn't be true! Did the lord know what he was doing?

Just then, a familiar little girl with black hair and eyes stepped out from behind her father and smiled at him. Words couldn't describe the gratitude that ran through his body at that moment. Well, if fate was giving him a chance, he was going to make the best of it. He was going to work hard and one day, just maybe, he might show them that they made the right choice in giving a street rat like him a chance.

Logan stood up and picked up the sword. That was his answer.

Lord Charles smiled. "Good lad. We'll make a soldier out of you yet, young Logan." He turned around and moved towards the iron grill, his daughter in hand. "Oh, and due to your… special origins, I want to keep an eye on you for awhile."

Did he mean what Logan thought he meant?

"So I'm having you and whatever family you have move into the castle, temporarily of course, until I'm sure you've erased that trouble making side of you. After that, you can move into the barracks." With that he left, leaving behind a speechless Mazoku.

Logan's grip on the sword tightened. Words had no place here. Logan bowed after their retreating figures.

* * *

Logan kept his grip on the sword tight as if afraid it would disappear or taken away at any given moment. He raced through the near empty streets of the city, taking as many short cuts as possible. After a good ten minute sprint, his destination was in sight: an abandoned church.

Logan rushed inside and raced up the stairs. He didn't stop until he reached a wooden door on the fifth floor. Before he could knock on the bolted door, the door swung inward and a four year old Mazoku girl jump out and tackled him to the floor.

"Logan!" she cried.

"Alice?"

"I thought you weren't coming back, just like papa and mama…" she said.

Logan propped himself up. "I told you I'd come back. I promised, didn't I?"

She gave a tiny nod.

Logan stood up and lead her inside. "What are you doing out of bed anyway? Do you want your fever to get wors--" He stopped short when he saw that their belongings had been packed into two small boxes. "What's this?"

Alice's face brightened. "You see, a nice big sister came and told me to pack up our stuffs cause she said we're going to move to a better place! Is it true, Logan?"

At a loss for words, he nodded.

"Yay!" Alice cried while jumping around for joy.

"Oi!" Logan said worriedly. He pulled her wrist to prevent her from jumping around anymore. That was when he noticed that her pulse was normal. Logan's brow creased. "Come here," he said. Logan place his hand on her forehead and counted to seven. He blinked in disbelief. Alice's fever was gone!

"Oh yea," she said. "That big sister I told you about. She brought me to the castle to see this lady. Then the lady made me all better!"

"This girl, what did she look like?"

"Um…" Alice pursed her lips before describing the person Logan was infinitely indebted to.

* * *

For the years to follow, Logan served as Ysabel's 'partner in crime'. So if put in simple English, Logan never really erased the trouble making side of himself.

Till now, watching the double black exchanging words with his second and third in command, Logan had yet to repay that debt. He faintly wondered if there was really anything he _could _do to repay all that she had done for him.

Logan smiled to himself. _Probably… not._

Logan turned to the person beside him: Lady Ysabel's closest friend. "Conrad," he said, "I know how hard it must have been for you to stand on the sidelines just now. You have my gratitude."

Conrad nodded in acknowledgment. "It's hard for us all," he said. Though it was unsaid, both veterans knew the second part to that sentence: "Knowing that someone important in your life had forgotten you."

For the Lady to remember his name was enough for him. He'd remember everything else for her.

* * *

_**A/n:**_

_First off, an addition to the last chapter: OMG sooooo many typos in important lines. Well… I can only remember two at the moment. It's '__stopped short' in paragraph 7 and 'owe __her my allegiance and my life' in the last line._

_Phew! Long chapter. Sorry all, I was planning on finishing this sooner but Logan's past turned out to be longer than I expected. It took a longer time for me to write and an even longer time to abbreviate it. Yes, Logan's past is abbreviated hence the somewhat new writing style._

_Okay, okay, you've guessed it. This chapter is influenced by episode 10 (officially my fav episode) in the third season. Let's just say that Edel has a commoners' military academy inside the city. Alright, fine, it's a loophole but for the sake of the story, overlook it please! Lol._

_O.O Was the last chapter really that bad? I only got 1 review for it. Not that I don't appreciate it Twilight Vixen ) Come on, I need motivation! Review pleeeeease…_

**FAQ**

**1. What's Logan's relationship with Alice?**

**A. **Logan is Alice's older brother. Yes, they're orphans.

**2. Will we be seeing more of Alice?**

**A. **I might mention her briefly but she won't be a main character. At least, I have no plans in making her one.

**3. I see potential for a love triangle! Wanna give us a hint?**

**A. **No comment, I'll keep you guessing. )

**4. Fine! Then how about telling us how close Logan is going to get with Ysabel?**

**A. **No comment. )

**5. How long are Conrad and Logan going to stay civil to each other?**

**A. **No comment. )

**6. Everything is a 'no comment'! What kind of FAQ are you writing?!**

**A. **No comment. )

**Reader: … I give up.**

_Lol, okay, want to know all the answers? Then stay tuned for further updates as KKM REWRITE unfolds._

_Until my next update,_

_Forever,_

_**Val.**_


	17. Critical Confessions

_**Author's Note: **__Chapter 16 is up, enjoy! Yes, gasp! I put in a song verse!_

_**Disclaimer**__: I don't own Kyou Kara Maou or any of its characters but the OC and plot are mine… xD silver lining…_

* * *

_Would he walk on water  
Would he run through fire  
Would he stand before you  
Would he will be your anchor when the dark unfolds  
Would he always love you the best that he knows?_

_Would he give his life up  
To be all that he can  
Is that, is that, is that how you measure a man?_

_--Measure of a Man, Clay Aiken._

* * *

**Chapter 16**

Ysabel sat on her bed. She had ended up spending the rest of the day with Conrad 'hunting memories'. She had lost count of how many she gained in just today alone. Most of them were about the two of them getting into mischief. Ysabel could hardly belief that she was so… lively when she was young. She had always been the quiet one at the orphanage. You could say that the childhood she didn't remember and the one she did were two total opposites. She smiled when she recalled them.

_Looks like you had a busy day,_ a voice sounded in her head.

Ysabel rolled her eyes and sighed. _Shinou_, she thought.

_Oi oi, what's with the attitude?_

Suppressing the urge to roll her eyes again, she replied, _never mind. Was there something you wanted?_

Ysabel could _feel _the smirk on his face. _Nothing in particular,_ he voice sounded. His tone grew serious. _You remembered a lot of memories today, so why aren't you happy?_

Ysabel raised an eyebrow. _Why aren't I happy? What are you talking about? Of course I'm happy I remembered._

_Oh really._ From his tone, it was hard to tell whether or not it was a question. Then his presence disappeared from her mind.

Frustrated by the king's irritating manner, she let her upper body flop on the bed. Starring at the top of her canopy, she ran her conversation with him through her mind. What did he mean she wasn't happy? She was gaining forgotten memories so of course she was happy… right?

Ysabel searched deeper and then she realized what the king had meant. Within the overflowing happiness, a small, tiny fragment of another emotion lay. She bit her lower lip. It was worry. Even though Conrad was smiling every time she had looked over at him, why did she feel that he was… rushing?

* * *

Logan closed the door behind him and smiled. Now he stood, without a doubt, that it was Ysabel von Edel inside that room he had just exited.

Honestly, when he had first heard the news of the resurrected aristocrat in Edel, his first instinct was to hurt the person who would insult Her Excellency's memory by impersonating her. But here she was. Just a few from where he stood now.

It was only when he saw her that morning on top of the hill that Logan realized. He realized that his feeling to hurt the impersonator was just the outer shell of his true feelings. Deep down, he secretly hoped, truly and deeply hoped that the rumor was true. But then, could you really blame him? What were the chances that a dead mazoku would come back to life?

Well, whatever the reason or cause that brought her back, he was glad. Logan was drawn out of his thoughts by a familiar presence.

"Report," he said, barely audible.

A shadow jumped down from the windowsill of the nearby high window while another male figure moved out from behind a pillar. Both came forward and saluted, the ever cheeky grin plastered on Hayes' face.

"Ladies first," Hayes grinned.

Nadine didn't even give him the pleasure of seeing her roll her eyes. "It was just as you suspected, Captain," she said, "Rotating shifts of two or three watch Her Excellency's every move."

Logan paused to consider this. He didn't have to think too long to figure it out though. Rotating shifts of two or more? There was only one noble within the walls of the Blood Pledge with so many spare resources: Stoffel von Spitzberg.

Truthfully speaking, the old bastard would have already been assassinated by one noble or another if it wasn't for his right hand man, Raven. The way Stoffel was able to act the way he was today was probably because Raven had conveniently forgotten to report the assassination attempts. The coward probably wouldn't even be able to stand up the next day if he knew someone was daring enough to send someone to kill him.

Yes, Raven's undeniable abilities were wasted on a rat like Stoffel.

Logan nodded, satisfied. "Hayes?"

"Well, sir, apart from the two blokes Nadine darling here reported, of whom, if I may be so bold to add, have _absolutely_ no idea what the word 'spying' means, there's this other person, one of the maids," Hayes said, leaning against the back wall of the narrow corridor.

"One of maids?" Nadine repeated, "I didn't notice any suspicious activity among them."

He waved her off. "You women don't know what to look for. He wasn't _acting _suspicious, Nadine," Hayes explained calmly, clearly waiting for their reaction.

"_He_?" Logan and Nadine echoed.

"I know!" Hayes said, very happy that his point got through. "Can you believe it? I mean, if cross-dressing wasn't considered a 'suspicious activity', I don't know what is! I could hardly believe my own eyes: a man insulting woman wear!"

"Hayes…" Nadine began warningly before Logan stopped her.

"Is he a spy from one of the nobles?" he asked.

"Well, like I said, sir," Hayes replied. "He wasn't doing anything suspicious except cross-dressing, so I took it upon myself to follow him to wait for the appropriate moment to teach that scum a lesson or two about respecting women."

"You spent the entire day following a person you had no reason to belief he was a spy?" Nadine growled, her features twitching.

Hayes nodded seriously. "All for the sake of upholding the honor of all women!" he announced, his face shinning with determination. This, of course, was followed by a loud THUMP!

"Oww…" Hayes whined from his position on the ground while rubbing the sore spot on his head.

"So, in other words, he's a very good spy," Logan mused aloud, taking no heed about the animated conversation between his lieutenants.

Hayes gasped. "Sir, with all due respect, don't praise that stain of women when I'm here!"

"Please tell me you got something out of following the maid," Nadine said, her tone showed no signs of pleading or remorse for battering him.

"I upheld the honor of women?" Hayes said.

"Try again," Nadine's voice audibly strained.

"You're right, I didn't," Hayes admitted heartbrokenly. "He went into Lord Gwendal von Voltaire's office before I could."

"Von Voltaire?" Nadine said.

"It must be Josak then," Logan said. He grinned. "Depending on what moves Her Excellency make, you two just might have to work with him."

Color drained from Hayes' face. "Heaven forbid."

Logan indulged himself with a small chuckle. He then turned to Nadine. "What about the other matter I asked you to look into?"

"He plans on leaving tonight," Nadine said.

Logan nodded. It was earlier than he had expected since the date to dispatch the troops was least fifteen days away. _Che… Looks like I have some work to do_…

"Hayes on guard, Nadine, patrol," Logan said. With that, he turned on his heel and made his way to the stables.

* * *

Conrad tightened the strap around the saddle. He was still wearing his blue uniform as opposed to a preferred suit of armor. It couldn't be helped. Additional weapons and armor wouldn't arrive for another few days.

He paused. No, he couldn't stay. Footsteps sounded outside the stable, making Conrad turn towards the doorway. A figure appeared. It was a low ranked soldier that Conrad didn't know. His eyes widened when he stopped Conrad. The shock caused him to drop the leather pouch he was holding in his hand. Its contents emptied out onto the floor. The soldier promptly gathered up a number of coins and jewels. He made sure he didn't drop anything before bowing towards Conrad and disappearing into the night.

Conrad blinked. _It must have been a new recruit._

It was awhile later before he felt another presence from behind him. His hand instinctively went to his hilt. "Show yourself," he called out into the darkness.

A familiar figure in vivid auburn stepped out of the shadows. Sensing no (immediate) threat, he let his body relax. "Logan," he greeted.

Logan didn't say anything at first. His eyes wandered to the saddled horse. "Are you sure this is the wisest thing to do?" he asked in an even tone.

Conrad considered his words. "I've been too selfish these past few weeks," he answered, turning his attention back to his ongoing preparations. "I should leave now. Nothing good will come out of it if I stay."

"She wouldn't want you to go," Logan stated.

"I knew that I volunteered for a suicidal mission," Conrad said, "Yet, even knowing that, I got close to her."

Logan nodded in agreement. "That fact alone should justify me hurting you."

Conrad smiled at Logan's half-joking threat. "When it comes for feelings towards Ysabel, there's not much difference between the two of us."

Logan's brow creased. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, as if trying to block out a headache. "Are you alright?" Conrad asked.

"I'm just a little dizzy," Logan replied.

Conrad raised an eyebrow. Did someone perfectly healthy just get dizzy suddenly for no apparent reason? A horrific thought occurred to him. "Logan," Conrad said carefully, "when did you start getting headaches?"

"On my way down here," Logan replied, "Why?"

* * *

Ysabel heard a knock on the door. It opened and Hayes walked in. "Your Excellency," he bowed. "Just wanted to let you know that I'm on guard duty tonight and if there's anything you need, I'm right outside."

Ysabel smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Hayes."

Hayes bowed low again before turning back to the door. Ysabel was just about to turn away when she saw Hayes assume a battle position, hand on hilt, as he addressed someone outside the door. "You two over there, identify yourselves!"

* * *

Dread filled Conrad's entire being. "And did you happen to pass a soldier on your way down?"

"I did," Logan said. "Come to think of it, that's when I started feeling dizzy." Logan's face paled when his mind started to sync with Conrad's. "Conrad, you don't think…"

* * *

Ysabel reached for her sword. She had a bad feeling about this. Then, without warning, Hayes fell to his knees, clutching his head in pain. His face contorted in pain as he bit back a cry.

"Hayes!" Ysabel cried out, rushing towards him without thinking.

Ysabel barely made it halfway to Hayes before he looked up. "Run, Your Excellency!" he cried out fiercely.

* * *

Conrad's mind raced. What was the color of the jewels that fell out of the pouch? Conrad face paled even more. "The jewels were red!" he said aloud.

"What?" Logan asked.

* * *

Hayes struggled to stand but was unsuccessful. The pain was making it hard even for him to keep his eyes open.

Two figures moved into the room. They each held two red, glowing gems. A wave of nausea struck Ysabel. She could feel strength slowly seep away from her body. She backed away towards the far wall while the two figures began their advance.

* * *

"Logan!" Conrad called as he went into a mad sprint for a certain noble's chambers. "There's Hoseki in the castle!"

_Please let her be okay,_ he thought desperately. _Please let her be okay._

* * *

Ysabel didn't have the strength to stand anymore. The two intruders slowly pushed her back against the wall. There was nowhere to go. She was trapped. Fear engulfed her body but she refused to let it show on her face. She was trembling on the insides. _Conrad… Where are you?_

"You won't get away with this," she shouted at them.

The two figures exchanged looks and laughed. One of them drew a long dagger from his belt and advanced.

Ysabel looked left and right. There was nothing she could do. She was a sitting duck! He brandished his weapon. The dagger reflected in the polished marble floor. The weapon fell, exactly what Ysabel was waiting for.

An invisible sword materialized in her hand, stopping the dagger in its path. Gathering what little strength she had left, she pushed the attacker off.

"Just wait until Conrad…" Ysabel

"Che! That fool?" the other assassin said. "He's already _dead_."

Time stopped. A different kind of fear and dread filled her. This was one that she was unable to stop from showing on the outsides. The word '_dead'_ rang in her ears. "No," she whispered, shaking her head. _It couldn't be_, she thought to herself. _It wasn't possible._

"You're wrong!" Ysabel retorted. She was finding it very hard to breathe. "Conrad wouldn't… He couldn't…"

The second assassin waved his hand and two more figures carrying a third walked in. The two were dressed in black robes while the third was…

"Conrad!" Tears were flowing from her eyes now. Over and over she called out his name but the limp and bloodied body didn't show any signs of life. "No, don't do this to me, Conrad!" her voice cracked. Her body went numb. Breathing was secondary now. What she needed now was to see Conrad lift his head. To show her that he was still with her.

"But don't worry," the first assassin said seemingly from far away. "You'll be joining him soon enough."

All of a sudden, it was as if nothing in the world mattered anymore. It was as if life wasn't worth living anymore. She didn't even care when the blade fell.

CLASH! The ringing of steel was followed by a cry of pain. Blood had been shed.

* * *

"Wake up, Your Excellency!" a voice sounded in the darkness surrounding her.

She looked up to see a familiar person, Hayes, kneeling in front of her. He held his own sword with both his hands in attempt to parry the enemy's blow. Unfortunately, he didn't have enough strength to hold the attack. Hence, the dagger had pushed back his double-edge sword back, causing the other side of the sword to bite deep into his left shoulder.

"Hayes?" Ysabel said, the scene before her was surprisingly… _not_ surprising. The tears had stopped but her face was still tearstained. Nothing mattered anymore. She felt numb all over. No emotions and no feelings.

"Annoying pest," one the assassins, Ysabel couldn't tell which, said. He lifted a glowing gem and propelled the auburn soldier to the other side of the room.

Hayes' helpless body crashed hard against the stone wall. He was unable to suppress a cry this time. He fell; face down, on the floor, unconscious. The pain from the migraine and shoulder wound cupped with the impact on the wall obviously too much to bear. A pool of blood started to form around his shoulder wound.

* * *

"We've taken too long," said one assassin. "Finish it quickly."

The other nodded in agreement. All of a sudden, his body tensed and froze up. "What's the matter?" his companion asked. "Finish it," he prompted.

The fingers around the dagger went limp, causing the blade to fall to the floor with a clatter. The body then fell forward, revealing the hilt of a throwing knife protruding from his back. All attention was drawn to the doorway.

Logan was down on one knee, his left hand held tightly onto the knob of the door for support. His was contorted in pain. From the position of his right arm, it was clear he was the one who had thrown the knife.

"Ysabel!" cried an all too familiar voice. It was a voice that caused an invisible knife to pierce her heart. Conrad, too, appeared at the doorway, sword drawn.

"Conrad?" Ysabel asked. A tingling of emotions ran through her.

* * *

When Conrad spotted her, he immediately ran forward with no apparent plan in mind. Only one thing mattered now: Getting Ysabel out of this nightmare safe and sound. And he wasn't about to spend even one precious second _planning_ what to do. He would just do it.

Unfortunately, the assassin was quicker to recover compared to him crossing the large room. He picked the dagger from his fallen comrade, pulled Ysabel up in front of him and placed the dagger and her throat. "Don't take another step!" the assassin demanded, "or I'll slit her right here and now."

Ysabel seemed to be in a trace or daze. She wasn't struggling against his grip or saying anything. What was going on?

Conrad straightened and tossed his sword away. He held both his up to show he wasn't armed. "Against the wall!" the man ordered. Conrad had no choice but to comply. All four gems were still glowing. As Conrad walked, he cast a look sideways. Logan was in even more pain now. The man could barely move let alone fight. No, for this, Logan was going to be more handicap than help.

"Good," the assassin said, satisfied. Then, a smirk crept up onto his face. "Good bye, that is." The two gems he held grew brighten, almost blinding. Flames licked the surface of the crystal.

Then it became clear what he wanted to do. A fireball appeared in the air between them. The fireball grew even more menacing with every passing second. Soon, even Conrad could feel the heat on his skin. He was weaponless, option-less and helpless. What was he going to do? He needed to do something and quick.

The heat was beginning to burn. It was hopeless. There was no visible way out of this. Conrad… had failed. He had failed to protect the ones around him, failed to save the one he loved and… He stole a look at Ysabel. And most importantly, failed to let her know that he…

"Now I can get rid of both of you at the same time. How convenient." Then, the assassin did something Conrad _didn't _anticipate. He threw the dazed hostage at Conrad's feet and released the ball of energy at the same time.

Every that happened after that did so in between seconds. Conrad moved forward to catch her before she stumbled onto the floor. Then, he turned the both of them around, so that Conrad himself stood in between the only woman he had ever loved and death.

"I love you," Conrad managed to whisper into her ear as he held her in his tight embrace.

Then…

**(Val dodges many sharp and blunt objects. 'Alright, alright, I won't leave it at a cliffhanger! I'll continue!')**

Then…

Nothing.

No flaming heat scorching his body, no flames licking his skin, no angel of death to receive them. "Are you alright, my lord?" a female voice questioned.

Conrad looked over his shoulder to see a female mazoku in auburn standing in place of the assassin. The later was now facing down on the floor in a similar scenario as his comrade. The fire, like its hojitsu user, was gone. It was at this point that Conrad noticed Logan was missing. He had went for help?

"Is Her Excellency alright?" Nadine asked hesitantly.

Conrad's attention snapped back to Ysabel. He blinked. Tears were silently rolling down her cheeks. She was… crying. "Y… sabel?"

"You idiot," she half shouted with a cracking voice. "I thought you were dead!" She buried her face into his chest and sobbed even harder.

Conrad was faintly aware Nadine moving the fallen Hayes out of the room, making as little noise as possible. He attentively started stroking her midnight hair. "It's… alright now," he said quietly. He pulled her into a tight embrace. "It's alright, I'll never leave you."

At that moment, the moment he held her so close for the first time, Conrad made a decision.

* * *

A/n:

_PHEW! That had to be one of the hardest chapters I wrote. And really, after I wrote that, I really don't want to write a note from the Author._

_I will, however, make a note that I've noticed everything is kind of slow in this story, so… to keep you readers, I'm thinking I have to speed things up a bit before I bore you all to death. Right?_

_**Thank you very, very, very much for reviewing, TwilightVixen and Square-Enix Fan**_

**F.A.Q**

**1. How many chapters are you planning to write?**

**A. **I have no idea. I'm a _very_ disorganized writer. But I _can_ tell you that we're about 65 percent into the story.

**2. What happened to the other two assassins?**

**A.** If you haven't figured it out, all three figures were just illusions. I think Ysabel kinda figured that out.

_Okay, only two this time. I think I worked up my skin allergies by finishing this chapter in the garden so… yea… I'm out._

_Until my next update,_

_Forever,_

_**Val.**_


	18. Aftermath

**Chapter 17**

Logan sat with his back against the wall beside the large double doors. The lingering effects of the hoseki still tingled through his limbs. Nadine had just left with Hayes for the Medic Wing and he was left alone in the silent corridor. The silence was broken by the quiet sob of a female inside the room.

He shut his eyes and took a shaky breath. There was an overwhelming urge to stop her tears, to prevent her from ever shedding them again. He felt… so responsible. It was his fault, his carelessness that almost cost Ysabel her life. If Conrad hadn't been at the stables at that time… If he hadn't seen the assassin and hoseki… Logan cringed at the thought. They would have never made it in time.

Logan got up. He was still lightheaded but he had no desire to remain here. He looked over his shoulder, through the crack of the door where Ysabel continued to cry while being held. She was in safe hands. After tonight's event, he was sure of it. He recalled the words that were exchanged in the stables.

"When it comes for feelings towards Ysabel, there's not much difference between the two of us," Logan muttered softly to himself. His gaze wandered over to the veteran. "There's one difference but you didn't see it up until now, did you?" Logan's gaze lowered. He paused to steel himself before continuing. "The difference is that she chose… _you_."

Logan closed his eyes and turned his back of the couple. "I'll leave her in your hands," he murmured as he walked away.

* * *

Conrad continued to hold her close, gently stroking her hair while she wept. He had only ever seen her smiling, full of life and happiness but only now did Conrad know how blessed he was. That very same person was now here in his arms, so fragile, so helpless. For every snivel, every whimper that plagued his ears, a knife stabbed his heart a thousand times over.

Conrad felt so… broken.

It was wrong, cruel even. Someone like her, she shouldn't have to be in this state, ever! She deserved to be happy every second of her life. So, then _why_? Why did god allow things like these to happen? It was wrong and Conrad would take it upon himself to correct it. He would make sure that she would never have another reason to be sad again.

"Conrad…" Ysabel's small voice drew him out of his thoughts.

"Are you alright now?" Conrad asked a bit too fast. "You're not hurt, are you?"

She shook her head mutely. "I'm… alright. What…" she stopped mid-sentence.

"What is it?" Conrad pushed.

She didn't answer immediately. "What did you say? When you caught me." Conrad realized she was talking about when he moved forward to catch her when the assassin threw her. The moment he said…

Conrad's breathing got caught. He blinked. The moment he said…

_I love you_.

"I… uh…" The words wouldn't leave his mouth.

"Conrad?" she cocked her head. She sincerely didn't hear what he said!

"I… uh… I…" Conrad stammered. He gulped. His mouth was dry. It wasn't working properly. His mouth was open but nothing was coming out. His heart threatened to jump out of his chest. Its beating was so loud! He hoped Ysabel couldn't hear. He swallowed again. Was it him or was the room getting hotter?

"I… uh…" Why was it so hard to say three words?

"It's nothing," Conrad said. No… That wasn't what he was supposed to say! "Are you sure you're not hurt?" His mouth no longer belonged to him.

"No, I'm fine," she said. She fell quiet. Conrad breathed a sigh, relieved that she didn't notice him changing the subject. Wait… he was changing the subject? No, no, no. He was supposed to be saying something really important.

"Hayes!" she said suddenly. She straightened quickly and scanned the room. "Where is he? Is he alright?" Unfortunately, talking so suddenly wasn't such a good idea. She braced her head in attempt to stop the ringing.

"Calm down," Conrad reprimanded, slightly frantic. "He's fine. Nadine is taking him down to see Gisela." Conrad had seen a lot of wounds in his lifetime and just from a brief glance, he could tell that Hayes' injury was quite serious, almost life threatening. That and the fact that he had bled quite a bit made it a risky call. Conrad felt awful for lying to Ysabel but worrying about another thing was the last this she needed at the moment.

She grabbed a fistful of his sleeve. "Who were they?"

* * *

Ysabel walked down the corridor towards the Medic Wing with Logan at her heels. She had composed herself on the outside but her insides were still feeling the after effects of an assassination attempt. Last night was definitely one she could live out the rest of her life without experiencing again.

By sunrise, at Ysabel's own request, the castle was back to normal with no signs that anything ever happened last night. The last thing she needed was a full scale investigation or unnecessary additional protection. All the loose ends had been tied up. Of what she knew, Logan and Conrad had arranged for the bodies to 'disappear'. There was minimal damage made to the furniture or the castle itself so covering up the scars of battles weren't hard. In addition, in assurance to Nadine's words, there had been no unnecessary witnesses. So now… the only problem would be…

Hayes' wound.

Honestly, Ysabel hadn't the faintest clue as to how to cover that up. She had yet to come up with a believable story that would justify the seriousness of the wound. Just when she was about ready to give up, Logan appeared with an amused smile and told her, 'Don't worry. Hayes gets in too much trouble than what's good for him but he knows how to get out of it too.'

Ysabel's face grew blunt. _What did he mean by that?_ Ysabel knew that that would was serious. She honestly hoped that he was alright. Gah! If only she hadn't spaced out like that. None of this would have happened. Well… Maybe they would have but not to this extend!

She cleared the double doors and walked into a white room with white beds lining the walls in two rows. She immediately spotted the large crowd around a certain bandaged blonde. As Ysabel started towards them, she identified the crowd to be practically the castle's entire occupants, minus the military.

Hayes' shirt was removed so that it would be more convenient to change his dressings. It was only now that Ysabel noticed now toned his body was. Well… Guess that was one of the requirements of a soldier. He had his usual cheeky smile on his face as he exchanged light chatter with the other nobles. "Well… it's a long story…" he said as he scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed smile plastered on his face. Seeing him like that, Ysabel wondered if he really was on the verge of death just a few hours ago.

Wolfram shook his head. "That's Hayes for you," he said as he crossed his arms.

"I wonder which innkeeper's daughter he womanized this time…" Gwendal muttered to no one in particular.

Hayes' eyes widened in shock as his face paled. "Your Excellencies!" he protested. "You know that I would _never_ do such a thing!"

A few in the room rolled their eyes at that comment. "Mmhmm," Cheri said sarcastically. "What about the time you 'courted' the daughter of…" She paused when she couldn't remember the name.

"The tavern keeper in Bandarbia, Your Majesty," Gunter supplied without hesitation.

"That's the one!" Cheri smiled.

"Or that time when you saw the need to escort the crown princess back to her chambers. I, personally, was surprised her fiancée didn't run you through," Wolfram added.

"Now now," Hayes said, "Let's not get too hasty. We all know that Marie adored me. I was merely submitting to the will of women. I, after all, am but their humble servant." He did sort of a makeshift bow in his half sitting position.

Was it just Ysabel, or did the room grow colder…

Conrad, of whom stood behind the crowd, was the first one to notice Ysabel's arrival. He walked around the crowd who continued their conversations to stand before her. "Good Morning," he gave a warm smile. "Did you sleep well?" His voice only betrayed the slightest signs of worry.

Ysabel felt happiness swell up in her and couldn't help but smile back before nodding.

"That's good to hear," he said before he turned his gaze to Logan. Ysabel peeked over her shoulder to where Logan stood. Both of their faces were void of all emotions. Somehow, Ysabel felt as if silent words passed between them. A few moments passed before Logan nodded to Conrad and took a step back. Blink. Was that a code for something?

Ysabel looked back just in time to see Conrad returning Logan's gesture with a nod of his own. "With all due respect, don't Your Excellencies have a country to run? I mean, how would all the women of Shin Makoku fare if everyone was here visiting me instead of doing their duties to the country? I could never live with myself if something happened to them," Hayes' face was amusingly dramatic. There was just something about him that made one couldn't stay angry at him for too long.

"That's right," a familiar voice sounded from behind. "Too many people visiting at once could hinder his recovery." Everyone turned to see Gisela guiding Susanna Julia in.

"Well then, I guess we should get going," Günter said. Goodbyes were exchanged as everyone was seen out of the room by the two medics. Now, the entire Wing was empty except for Hayes, Ysabel, Conrad and Logan. There was a moment of silence as they waited for the footsteps to slowly die away. When he was sure that there was no one is listening distance, Logan called out, "You can come out now."

Seemingly out of nowhere, Nadine appeared on the opposite side of Hayes' bed. "Your Excellency," she greeted with a slight bend. "There are no spies in the parameter as of this moment." She directed the last sentence at Logan.

"Looks like they believed your story," Conrad said, gazing after where everyone left.

Hayes merely grinned and, being wise enough not to move his bandaged shoulder, shrugged his uninjured shoulder.

"What story?" Ysabel asked, cocking her head to one side.

"Well…" Hayes said. "It's more like they assumed a story of their own, Your Excellency. I didn't say anything at all."

Sweatdrop. Did that mean that what they all said about fathers and fiancées to be true? Ysabel took the chair beside Hayes' bed. She sighed. She knew what kind of answer that she'd get but it just wouldn't sit well with her if she didn't ask. "Are you really okay?"

Hayes was momentarily stunned. Before Ysabel had the time to ponder why, he replied in the same cheerful manner. "Of course, Your Excellency, it'd take more than that to get rid of me. It's not the first time I'm in the Medic Wing."

"He's in here more often than not," Nadine muttered. "And all for the wrong reasons."

"Do all the reasons really involve women?" Ysabel couldn't help but ask Hayes.

A carefree smile spread across his face again. "Well, I guess that's one way to put it."

"Moreover," Logan said. "What do you plan to do?"

Even though he didn't state 'do about what', they all knew what he was talking about. In situations like these… Ysabel would probably have asked Conrad and Logan for their advices but…

Flashes of last night's events flashed through her mind. Everyone was hurt because of her incompetence, because she couldn't do things herself, because she couldn't take care of herself. No… She had to learn to stand on her own two feet. She was, after all, one of the te—eleven aristocrats that governed over the land of demons. Mm… Land of Demons… that sounded wrong for some reason… Rather than just relying on the people around her, she'd have to learn to take matters into her own hands. She'd have to learn to make the right decisions by herself.

"We'll…" Ysabel started. "We'll keep this quiet for now."

To say that everyone in the room was taken aback was a mild understatement. "Your Excellency," Hayes was the first to speak out, "you _do_ realize that you were targeted by an unknown enemy to take your life. With all due respect, this isn't something you should take for granted."

"I'm not taking it for granted, Hayes," Ysabel said. "That's why I want to keep it quiet. We all saw it coming. Someone was bound to target me, a revived aristocrat. Moreover, my family status in the demon hierarchy puts me in natural danger already. You can't tell me that the Voltaires or Beifeilds have never been targeted. Besides, I can't afford to cause an uproar during a time like this, when the kingdom my family swore to protect is at pre-war." Ysabel paused and blinked.

_Revived_ aristocrat? The kingdom _my_ family swore to protect? _My_ family status? Where did those words come from? Was she already adjusting and accepting the fact that she was a noble of Shin Makoku? What's more, where did that speech come from? Was she subconsciously thinking like that without knowing it?

"True… but what do we do if they come back? We know so far we can't stand up to the hoseki they have. It's not normal Hoseki. Currently, you're asking us to keep this between all those who know the incident happened. We don't have enough manpower to guard and research about the hoseki at the same time."

Ysabel bit her lip. Hayes was right. They didn't have enough manpower and if the enemy decided to strike again before they gathered their information, Ysabel couldn't guarantee that they'd be as lucky as last night. But what about the country? Would Ysabel risk the country for her own safety? She couldn't! She just couldn't do such a thing! What was she going to say?

"I think Ysabel is right," Conrad said suddenly. "It's true that all the nobles are targeted from time to time. Subtracting even one from the picture could cause the country serious problems. Taking the Edel noble out would definitely throw the Mazoku off balance. That was probably the humans' initial plan. If we were to cause uproar within the country, then it would be as if their succeeded in their plan in the first place."

"Conrad…" Ysabel whispered.

Logan nodded and said, "That was what Her Excellency meant." He looked down at her. "Wasn't it?"

Ysabel smiled in gratitude to both and nodded. That was right. She needed to think faster, to connect the dots faster. However, even she knew that these skills weren't things one could learn overnight. It would take time. And until she could get it absolutely right, she knew that she had people like Conrad and Logan by her side to support her.

They discussed the subject for awhile longer before Ysabel remembered that one amongst them needed to rest. She stood up, ignoring Hayes' statements saying that he was alright.

"This all is important but your health comes first," Ysabel said to him as she was about to turn and leave. "You said so yourself, didn't you? We already lack people so we can't afford to lose you." She, of course, added the last bit as a joke.

Ysabel turned on her heel, closely followed by Conrad and Logan, and started to the doors only to be stopped by Hayes. "Hold on a moment, Your Excellency."

"Hm?" Ysabel's head cocked instinctively to the side again.

"Ne, Nadine, help me up for a moment," Hayes said surprisingly seriously. Nadine didn't move but raised an eyebrow in question.

* * *

A wry smile grew on Hayes face. "Now, now, don't give me that look, Nadine darling. I only want your help for a little bit." He paused. No, it wouldn't be appropriate. "No, you're right, never mind. Forget that I asked." Then, before anyone could do anything, Hayes started pushing himself off the white linens. An agonizing, sharp pain shot through his arm from his shoulder, making him clutch it with his other hand in hopes that the pressure would soften the pain.

It didn't.

* * *

Panic surged through Ysabel at the sight of his pain stricken face. "Hayes!" she called out as she rushed to help him. She wasn't the only one to do so.

"STAY BACK!"

Ysabel, Logan, Conrad and even Nadine, stopped in their tracks. Hayes' voice echoed through the empty Wing. Hayes sent an apologetic smile in their direction as he continued to clutch his shoulder. "Sorry, that wasn't like me." He took a few deep breaths before resuming his previous task.

Watching Hayes struggle like that, what was he trying to do? Why was he putting himself through this unnecessary pain? It was all too much for Ysabel to bear. Tears stung her eyes. "Hayes, that's enough!"

"Nope," Hayes hissed through gritted teeth as he moved his feet over the side of the bed. "This is something I have to do."

"Hayes…" Ysabel wanted to help him. Ysabel needed to help him. She couldn't stand watching someone in pain like that. Ysabel moved forwards only to be stopped by Logan extending his arm to block her way.

"Logan…"

"Watch," he said. "This is something Hayes is determined to do."

Watch? How could she watch a scene like this unfold? A person was in pain here and they wanted her to _watch_? She couldn't. She wouldn't! Ysabel was just about to push through Logan's barricade when something enlaced her hand. Ysabel followed the arm up to Conrad's face. He wasn't smiling but seeing him comforted her somehow. Holding his hand, Ysabel was able to calm down somehow.

"You can't destroy a person's resolve," was all he said.

"Conrad…" Ysabel bit her lip as she returned her gaze to Hayes.

Because of all the movements that Hayes had been making while his wound wasn't even closed yet, the blood had started to seep through his white dressing, staining it with a sickening crimson. Ysabel's grip tightened on Conrad's. Now, if Ysabel hadn't been too busy to note, she would have noticed that she had tightened her grip to the point where her fingernails were forceful enough to draw blood from Conrad's hand. But even then, Conrad didn't move an inch.

After a pain staking fifteen minutes, Hayes had managed to get to a standing position opposite Ysabel. He breathing was uneven. His bandages were almost entirely red now. Beads of sweat had already started to form. Then, after he mustered enough strength and will, he did the unexpected.

Hayes shot to a ninety degree bow.

"I declare my deepest and most sincere apologies to you, Your Excellency, for falling short," Hayes announced. His style of putting words together was definitely present but there was something about his tone. There were times where Hayes was serious but they always carried a teasing, almost mocking, air to it. No, one couldn't really apply the word 'serious' to Hayes but now… there was nothing like that. His tone was sincerely serious, more remorseful so to speak. He was truly and honestly sorry.

"I have no excuses," he continued. "Even though I had no wounds at that time, even though I had a sword in my hand, I failed to defend you. For that, I express my deepest and sincerest regrets. I know I haven't the right to wear the auburn of the Edels and I won't be so ignorant as to ask Your Excellency to exonerate me. What I did, or rather, what I failed to execute was unforgivable. Know that I will accept any verdict that you decide."

The room was stunned and silent. The only sounds that could be heard were from Hayes' labored breathing. Since when did Logan put down the hand that was stopping Ysabel from advancing? Since when did Ysabel let go of Conrad's hand? Since when did she start letting her tears flow down her face? Since when did she come to stand before Hayes' bowing figure?

Ysabel took a deep breath and smiled. She placed a gentle hand on his undamaged shoulder, causing his tense body to soften a little and he looked up. "What are you talking about? There's nothing to forgive…"

* * *

"You were awfully quiet during the discussion just now," Hayes said.

They were alone in the Medic Wing now. The other three had departed only mere minutes before Lady Julia and Lady Gisela came back in. Hayes suspected that Her Excellency had a hand in that coincidence. After a harsh and lengthy scolding for doing something as absurd as getting out of bed in his condition, Lady Wincott changed his dressing and, with another warning from Lady von Chirst, they departed.

"It's my obligation to follow orders, not help give them," Nadine replied coolly.

"Your opinions on the topic matters as well," Hayes pushed but he was dismissed with a small shrug. "Should you even be here? What happen to guard duty?"

"Lord Weller and the captain are with Lady Ysabel now," Nadine explained. "If there's combat, I'd only serve as a hindrance."

"Don't say that," Hayes said lightly. "You wear vivid auburn for a reason." A pause. "Ne, Nadine, have you ever met Her Excellency before?" He looked up at the woman that sat beside his bed. "I mean, before we came to Blood Pledge this time round."

"What's with this question all of a sudden?"

Hayes shrugged, causing Nadine to sigh. "You know that I've barely lived more than half of what you have. I think Lady Ysabel disappeared before I was even born. So technically speaking, it would be rather difficult for me to have met her before."

"Is that so?" Hayes said before he let out an embarrassed chuckle. "I keep forgetting you're that much more younger than I am."

"Maybe it's because you stopped growing up, senpai," Nadine flatly stated.

Hayes took the insult with a slight smile. "Oi, that's mean," he said light-heartedly. He leaned back against his pillow. "And stop calling me that, you wouldn't know if someone was listening in."

"There's no one listening in," Nadine countered without hesitation. "You know that as well."

Hayes smiled. "You've improved. True, no one's listening in but you still shouldn't call me that. You have a higher rank than me after all."

"We both know that that's only in name," Nadine replied. "In reality, you have more authority."

"Hm… I suppose but one has to acknowledge the fact that the student has surpassed the teacher."

"It'll be centuries more before I can match up in your forte."

A wry smile. "Heh… I don't know about that…"

Silence. "Why did you do that?" Nadine's tone was respectful, as if saying that it was perfectly alright if Hayes didn't want to answer. "That practice was removed centuries before."

Hayes remembered the feeling of helplessness as he lay on the bed starring at the ceiling, the condition of being powerless as he struggled with something as simple as getting out of a bed, the sharp pain in his shoulder when he shifted position… Yet, despite all that, he had forced himself to stand before Her Excellency and apologize. This practice started since the dawn of time among the garrisons at Edel but was removed by Lord Rai, grandfather to Lord Charles. Honestly speaking, Hayes had always thought the Edels must have been filled with some pretty stuck up nobles to initiate a practice like this but now…"I wonder about that…" Hayes whispered to himself.

"Senpai?"

"It's nothing," Hayes said. Instead of castigating him, the first thing that Her Excellency said to him after his failing to perform was 'Are you really alright?' Hayes was starting to wonder who started that custom, the nobles or the garrison themselves. "It just felt… appropriate, I suppose" Hayes said. "And stop calling me that…"

Her Excellency had probably not noticed it herself but saying things like 'are you alright' and 'this is important, but your health comes first' to a soldier that had just failed to defend you… Well, Hayes didn't really know what to make of it. Honored that Her Excellency thought about him? Grateful that Her Excellency didn't blame or persecute him? Ashamed that Her Excellency still cared for his health despite the fact that he had failed? The last one was definitely true, of course. That one failure, among the few that he made in his career as a soldier, was a failure that would have caused Her Excellency her life. It was unforgivable.

'This is important, but your health comes first'. Did people really know what that sentence meant? The matter which Her Excellency had proclaimed to be important was something that went hand in hand with her life. Yet, why did Her Excellency say that _his _health came first? Wasn't that indirectly saying something like 'his life was more important to Her Excellency than her own'? Hayes shook his head. That wasn't something that a noble should, or rather, would say.

And taking in Her Excellency's reply into account, Hayes heaved a sigh. Really… the pain that had surged through his arm during that short fifteen minutes was nothing compared to the discomfort he would have felt if he didn't apologize.

"Her Excellency is definitely something different than what I imagined." He balled his fists. "Nadine," he said quietly. "You're our 'ace' against the humans if they come back. Don't fall short on my expectations."

"Affirmative, Sir." Her tone immediately changing.

"Tch… with the situation in this state…" Hayes glared at his wound in disgust and sighed in frustration. "I wonder if I should call in Nexus."

It was truly disgraceful, for Nexus Element Hayes Volfield to fall into a situation like this.

* * *

"With Hayes temporarily disable, we have even fewer people we can trust around us," Logan was saying.

"The problem with trusting other people is that you'd have to trust people that _they _trust," Conrad said. "And that usually involves trusting people we don't know."

"We'll just have to make do," Ysabel said. "I doubt that would come back soon after a failed attempt but we shouldn't discount the possibility. In any case, that's a worst case scenario." Ysabel looked up at the two veterans. "What about Josak?"

Logan and Conrad exchanged looks before Conrad answered, "Josak is definitely someone we can trust but…"

Just then, there was a knock at the door of Conrad's quarters. A soldier in a navy blue uniform opened the door and, seeing unexpected additional faces, bowed. "Excuse the intrusion, Lord Weller."

"What is it?" Conrad asked, waving off the apology.

"My lord, there's something that you should know…"

* * *

**A/n:**

Okies! Cliffy! Not to make you guys mad, but to motivate me lol. I must admit, I lost a lot of zeal since no one really reviews but meh, I've decided to continue writing anyways. I love Kyou Kara Maou, and I love writing. That should be my sole reason for posting.

To make up for my absence, I've posted a chapter that's more than two times my usual length. So I hoped you all enjoyed it. If you guys got any question, you can ask and I'll post the answer in the next chapter.

Lol, honestly, I was extremely tempted to have Ysabel reply with a 'YOU IDIOT, YOU DID ALL THAT JUST TO APOLOGIZE?!' But nah, that would've sounded just a little insensitive lol.

_**F.A.Q**_

1. Does this mean that Logan's going to give up on the chase?

A. Well… it does seem that way, doesn't it? But I dunno, it's just the beginning. We'll just have to see what the future has in stored now, don't we? 

2. It sounds like Hayes and the other characters have got quite a good relationship, doesn't it?

A. Yup, just think of it like Hayes is a member of the militia that's dispatched to the capital a lot. Plus, sounds like he's pretty famous, or rather, infamous among the ladies, huh? ; )

3. What's the relationship between Hayes and Nadine?

A. No comment :)

4. What did Nadine mean in Section 6, paragraph 9?

A. No comment :)

5. Nadine and Hayes sure act different when they're alone.

A. That's not a question! XP Lol.

6. Hayes isn't a womanizer, is he?

A. Of course not, he just takes it up to himself to protect the dignity of all womankind. :)

7. Nexus…?

A. Don't ask lol. You know I won't answer :

Until my next update,

Forever,

Val.


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